


Curiouser and Curiouser

by teledeer (orphan_account), transtwinyards



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Mortal, F/F, F/M, Kinda, M/M, Profanity, Slow Burn, post-BoO
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-23
Updated: 2015-07-12
Packaged: 2018-03-31 20:15:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 46,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3991333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/teledeer, https://archiveofourown.org/users/transtwinyards/pseuds/transtwinyards
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He supposes he should blame it all on Thalia. He meets her in Manhattan, has to take the train to get to his part-time job.</p><p>The subway where he met <em>him</em> hogging a whole seat to himself during rush hour one morning.</p><p>Well, "hogging" is a little too harsh. People were just choosing <em>not</em> to sit next to him. That and maybe it was because of the black sword hanging loosely by his chain belt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. rush hour

**Author's Note:**

> the AU i've set aside for so long, i've literally lost any and all interest in it before jumping back in through influence of fanfiction: Mortal! Jason AU. idk why i thought this up but it seemed interesting. it still does.
> 
> will be adding more characters and relationships with the chapters that come out. will update after 3-4 days ish. Or just when we can manage.
> 
> -sj
> 
> i helped but like only on certain stuff :((
> 
> although!!!! im really excited to write this au even with my rusty pjo knowledge lol
> 
> -teledeer

_Anyone was_  bound to notice soon, right?

Okay, back it up, that's the  _most_  amount of times,  _by far_ , that Jason's had to ask himself a rhetorical question. Usually they got sorted out by the fifth time he asked himself.

 _Thrice_. 

It has been  _three times_  that Jason's had to squeeze through the subway trains of New York city. 

 _Three times_  that his butt's been grabbed outside a party filled to the brim with drunk, high, hormonal high school teenagers. 

 _Three times_  more than usual that he's had to check his bag and wallet. The routine's getting kind of old by now.

Thrice, he's seen the kid  _three fucking times_ in the last two days. All in rush hour, hogging a whole seat to himself.

Okay, maybe "hogging" is a bit of a strong word. The kid (maybe three or four years younger than him) was sitting by himself, Beats on his head, hands in the pockets of his aviator's jacket, and an authentic-looking black sword hanging by his chain belt loop. Just minding his own business, just like _any other_  person on the train.

Did New Yorkers respect their neighborhood cosplayers  _this_ much? Or did they all think that a kid like  _him_ ( barely five feet three and probably scrawnier than Jason's baby cousin) could beat the living shit out of them with an authentic-looking, probably fake sword? Do New York cosplayers  _do_  that?

Jason bit his tongue as yet  _another_  hand groped his ass. Nope, fuck this, he  _needs_  to at least "break" from this routine or else he really is going to  _break_  this dude's face. (Or girl, gender roles be damned. He will break  _someone_ 's face.)

Like honestly, is chivalry  _really_  dead?

 _Officially_ fuck _this_ , he thought to himself,  _I'm taking a fucking seat_. 

Jason huffed indignantly and sat next to the kid, probably an arm's length of space between them. Y'know, in case the kid  _did_  actually beat the living shit out of him with an authentic-looking, probably fake black sword?

If he was gonna stay in New York with Thal for two weeks (which he  _was_ , because he didn't even know she existed a week ago, this is family bonding right here. Jason had a fucking  _sister_  that he didn't even know  _existed_ until a week ago. He's working on getting used to that), he's going to try to actually  _sit_  through the train rides to work. And minimize the amount of times that he gets his ass grabbed because  _seriously_. It's getting  _really_  fucking old.

The night goes on without another ass-grab and somehow, in the midst of the humid, crowded train filled with tired people, Jason felt exponentially colder sitting next to the kid in an oversized aviator's jacket, with an authentic-looking, probably fake black sword.

Maybe the air-conditioning was faulty? They should probably get that fixed.

* * *

The kid was on the train the next morning too. Same seat, same clothes, same position. He stayed in that seat for the next few days after, and then some more.

Jason pondered if the kid lived there or something. Surely, someone rich enough to have a pair of Beats and a cool looking sword wouldn't live in the subway... Right?

Jason arrived just as rush hour ticked by and soon enough, the train was full. And  _no one_  still sat with them.

Yes, Jason sat down with the pale kid again and  _yes_ , he was still wondering why the fuck people didn't just sit down with them. The seats were free! It's a free country! Anyone can sit down!

It was like this kid had some crazy force field around him. Maybe Jason could bring the kid through the streets with him, like a meat shield, but against crowds instead of an onslaught of bullets.

He glanced at said kid. Okay, maybe he should stop with the 'kid' thing. It's making him feel old.

The... younger teen looked less pale today. So  _that_ was an improvement. There was a slight spray of freckles across his slightly sunken cheeks. It  _greatly_  complimented his cheekbones.

(Jason  _knows_ , he was the theatre club's makeup artist for three years straight now.)

Jason looked closer to see if anything else was different.

Okay so, maybe the 'five foot three' thing was a bit of an overkill. And also the 'scrawnier than Jason's baby cousin' thing.

The dude had  _arms_. Like, okay, he's lanky at a glance? And he's not buff, per se. But  _damn_ , you can  _see_ the muscle mass under the jacket. Jason resisted reaching out to touch, just to see if it was real or just the creases on the fabric.

Jason quickly looked away. Staring was rude. He had manners, okay? Thal would  _laugh_ at him and call him a prude but honestly, it's really just common sense to him at this point.

* * *

"You should go talk to him!" Thal shouted from the kitchen when he arrived from work that night.

(Jason vaguely wondered where she keeps going every day when he's not in the apartment. She mentioned a summer camp but he still hasn't been taken there for a visit. 

He tries not to sulk about it. They're not past that part of the relationship yet.)

Jason gave a frustrated huff in reply. "Weren't you listening to  _anything_  I've been telling you, Thal? He—"

"Looks like he can beat the shit out of you with his sword, yeah yeah. You've been  _yappin'_ about it all  _week_ , Jay."

Jason gawked, mock-offended. He  _knew_ , okay? "Excuse me?  _Thalia Grace,_  I have  _not_  been 'yappin' about him  _all week_."

"Have too."

" _Have not!_ "

Thalia walked out of the kitchen, kicking the refrigerator door behind her to close it. She had an armful of leftover Chinese take-out and a can of beer and a can of soda. Jason stood to assist, grabbing his soda and food and bringing it to the table in front of the TV.

There was a distinct lack of technology in Thalia's apartment. Phone almost always fully charged but Thal never used it.

("It's for emergencies  _only_ ," she told him when he asked. He never asked again.)

The only thing he could use here was the TV set and the DVD player. Thank god they lived in front of a movie rental place.

Thalia sat down beside him, leaning back on the couch, her can of beer in one hand and the DVD case on the other. "Seriously, Jay? Sleeping Beauty? Wasn't there that new Marvel movie that came out this week?" she asked, waving the case in front of his face.

Jason shrugged, pushing it down between them. "For old time's sake?" There was a smile on his face but it felt kind of sad. Almost too sad for his forced nonchalance. There was never an old time, never one that Jason could remember. This was all weird and foreign to him and he knew that Thalia knew that too.

 Thalia threw the case at the table, bumping her knee to the side of his leg on the couch.

"Play it," she said casually. And they watched the movie over dinner.

* * *

Over breakfast the next morning, was when Jason decided to ask, "Where do you go when I'm at work?"

Thalia's chewing slowed down as she thought about his question. There was milk dribbling from her chin but Jason ignored it. "I already told you, summer camp."

"Yeah," Jason agreed, "but  _where_ is that? What do you  _do_ there?"

There was a noticeable pause between them where Jason felt like Thalia was going to lie to him. He didn't think the thought would hurt him that much.

"Just a little bit outside of Long Island," Thalia answered before taking another spoonful of cereal. "It's not far from here, it's actually right in front of this strawberry farm. And we do normal summer camp stuff. Sometimes we get field trips to the Empire State Building."

Jason felt the tension leave his shoulders. She wasn't lying. But she  _was_ still hiding something. There was a choice to be made here, either he'd push his luck until he hit a wall or he backs off and doesn't bother his sister anymore.

Jason being Jason, he pushes his luck. "Would you mind taking me there sometime?"

It was a simple question, really. To any other person, this subject would be pretty light. But something flashed across Thal's face after he asked that, and he decided that maybe he just pushed his luck a little too far.

The unidentifiable look disappeared as quickly as it appeared, Thalia grinned mischievously. "It's a members only club. Sorry, little bro. If I can, I'll bring some of my friends over."

There was something more to that offer, something deeper. Jason couldn't shake the image of Thalia's look, couldn't shake the memory of the scar he'd seen on her shoulder.

"Okay," Jason replied, sounding a little bit resigned. It was a thought for another day.

 

* * *

 

So it seemed, meeting the kid on the subway and sitting next to him (or what can qualify as next to him) became something like a routine for Jason. (Which wasn't really a surprise, like if you always do something at a specific time then it's a routine right?)

Jason doesn't have anything against routines. No,  _definitely_ not. 

But he wasn't Mister Quarterback, and he wasn't in Berkeley anymore so,  _of course_  he decides that maybe he should probably take Thalia's (read:  _lame_ ) advice and start talking to the guy, be the polar opposite of himself. Be a bad boy and all that shit. Jason was in a different place, different time(zone). He could be a totally different person, if only for just two weeks.

But even as he thought this through and,  _hell,_ even warmed up to the idea, it got  _harder_  to work up the courage to talk to the dude.

Like, maybe Jason Grace was a  _little_  intimidated by the younger teen that he always sat next to in the subway.  _Maybe_  it's because of the sword, maybe it's because of the Beats. Hell, maybe it's because he thought Thalia's ideas were incredibly stupid, even just for consideration.

(He hasn't had enough time with her to know yet though, so he really can't say that for certain.)

Maybe it was because of the over-sized jacket (that couldn't really hide the younger teen's muscles) that looked  _really_  cute on the guy. Jason imagined  _anything_  would probably look cute on him, to be perfectly honest.

These were all hypothetical things, he was  _totally_   _not_ attracted to some stranger. Thalia Grace needed to shut her fucking mouth and Jason needed to stop thinking.


	2. Attempts in Socializing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was captain of the football team back at home. He was class president when he was in the fifth grade. Making friends with this guy was gonna be _easy as pie_!
> 
> Wherein Jason learns a lot about the guy at the subway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh man i'm _so_ behind schedule in writing, lmao, i can't manage myself. i'm still working on chapter three so, have fun with this one guys! i'll update in another three or so days.  
>  \- sj

Jason had the balls, okay? He could  _totally_  do this. He used to get voted as captain of the sports teams he got into back at Berkeley. He was class president when he was in the fifth grade.

Making friends with this guy was gonna be easy as pie!

As Jason sat down the usual seat, ignored entirely by his unsuspecting seatmate, he felt  _all_ hopes for a conversation slip out from under him. 

Nope, _definitely_ not gonna work. _Ugh_.

He glanced at said unsuspecting seatmate. There was a sweet looking skull ring on his hand. His hands were out of his jacket now!

Okay, totally odd thing to get excited about but this was all new to him. Jason got excited by new things. Sometimes a little bit too excited.

(Thalia always told him he was like a golden retriever let loose. Always has been.)

The dark-haired teen was picking at his jeans. Obviously an unconscious habit. As was Jason's staring. He looked away immediately.

"Why do you keep staring?" He heard. He looked back at the guy. There was a slight frown his face. Jason inwardly berated himself for staring for so long that the guy took notice.

"'m sorry—I really don't mean to, it's an unconscious thing... I'll just stop," Jason apologized, because he was a polite gentleman. His Aunt June did  _not_  raise a heathen. He deflated a little in his seat, ashamed at how he got caught staring.

An awkward silence hung between them. It was slightly lost in the ambiance of the constant rattle of the train and the buzz of the crowd around them.

"Nice sword you've got there," Jason piped up, because he couldn't fucking shut his mouth for the life of him. It's almost a genetic thing. Lord knows how many times Jason got into trouble because he didn't shut up, probably got it from his mother.

"What?" The guy replied, confused for a second. And then, " _Oh_ ," he said, like some kind of horrible realization was sinking in. Jason didn't let the implications of that get to him.

"Is it real?" Jason asked, not helping the fact that he sounded like some five year old kid at the park who approached strangers and asked weird questions. He used to be. He supposed he never really grew out of it.

"Uh, yeah," the guy replied, looking a bit lost.

"That's cool!" Jason smiled. The guy probably had a permit for it or something. He never really got to researching on laws upon arrival.

"I'm Jason, by the way."

"Nico. My name's Nico," he replied. He still looked lost, like someone set him up here to just sit in the train all day. Like human interaction was  _not_  in his resume.

"So, I can't help noticing but..." Jason trailed off, moving in closer, his voice dropping lower, "why don't people sit next to you?"

Nico blinked, then there was a slight pull at his lips. Almost a smile. Jason thought to himself,  _can I get him to actually smile though?_

"I don't really know. Maybe they think I'm  _creepy_  or something. People normally do," Nico answered nonchalantly, like it was the normal answer to these kinds of questions. 

Jason felt like shit in an instant. That had sounded like a nonchalant self-deprecating comment.

" _No_. You?  _Creepy_? Why would they  _ever_  reach that conclusion! What with your black sword, ripped skinny jeans, and skull jewelry." Jason joked, but there was truth ringing in his words. Nico looked like any other teenager (aside from the dangerous realistic looking sword, Nico could really pass for a normal teenager). Most adults wouldn't even care.

Nico gave him a bemused look in response. Jason decided that he should take that as a good thing.

"You're a weird guy, Jason," Nico commented, going back to picking at the fabric of his jeans.

Jason put a hand over his heart, closing his eyes and shaking his head almost too dramatically. His glasses almost fall off with the sudden movement. "You think I'm weird? I'm  _hurt_ , Nico."

Nico smirked at him, rolling his eyes, and Jason could feel  _all_  of his confidence dropping (how can someone pull an awkward act and somehow become so smooth so  _quick_. Jason can almost  _feel_  the whiplash. Truly, God works in mysterious ways). Now he  _really_  needed to get Nico to smile.

"Something tells me you'll get over it pretty soon," Nico muttered coyly.

Jason made for another fake wince, clutching at the strings of his hoodie. " _You wound me so._ "

The train hissed at a stop, the PA lady sounding through to inform them of their destination. Jason was too busy grinning to hear. Nico went to stand, his sword clattering against the seat at the movement. Jason took notice to the fact that no one looked in surprise.

"This is my stop," Nico informed him. Jason nodded.

"I'll see you tonight then," Jason said in lieu of a goodbye, because 'see you later' was too casual and he was still in a playful dramatic mood.

Nico huffed, something near a laugh as he threw a hand (ooh, fingerless gloves,  _classy_ ) over his shoulder.

Jason couldn't stop grinning all the way to work.

* * *

 

"Want some?" Jason asked, hand extended to offer Nico a burger. He'd gotten hungry on the way home and Thal had said that she was going to eat at camp tonight anyway. Something about some other camp friends coming over to their camp or whatever. Jason was too distracted to remember.

Anyway. To set the scene, here's how it went:

Nico had been on their seat when he got on the train that night (when had he started thinking of it as  _their seat_?), Beats off, hands fiddling with his rings and jacket tied around his waist. There were lines of scars running up his well-toned arms, he was wearing an orange shirt (one that looked  _really_  familiar to him) and by his neck, hung a small silver cross necklace, and a tacky-looking necklace with only one bead on it.

(Okay, there were  _three_  things, as always. Three was the methodical number.

One: he expected the arms. What he  _didn't_  expect were the scars. Did Nico frequently use that sword? Did he normally get into fights? He  _swore_  he saw the beginnings of a bruise by Nico's shirt sleeve. Of course, through just one glance. Jason Grace  _does not_  stare openly. But he  _is_  extremely concerned.

Two: that shirt looked  _extremely_  familiar. It looked washed out and there was a faded silhouette of a pegasus on it. And;

Three: Jason tried  _so hard_  not to stare. Nico didn't seem to have noticed the staring. If he did, he didn't mention it.)

And now...

"No, thanks. I'm not that hungry," Nico responded to his offer, not looking up from where he was still fiddling with his ring. His finger looked red underneath it, like he'd been doing that for a long time...

Jason lightly bumped the younger teen by the arm, ignoring the jolt that ran up his fingers at the skin contact. 

Nico felt cold to the touch, almost icy. No wonder he always wore that jacket.

"C'mon, man. It's not  _poisonous_  or anything. If I was  _this_  obvious about going around on killing you, people would have  _definitely_  called the cops by now!"

Nico blankly stared at him for a moment, hands stopping from their fidgeting to move away from Jason's hand, like Jason had just electrocuted him and it took a moment or two to register it in his head. Jason persisted, trying not to let the silence or their stillness get to him. 

The seconds seem longer, and his arm was getting kind of tired by now.

 _He hasn't said anything_ yet _, don't feel so down, Jay_ , he reassured himself.

Nico sighed and begrudgingly took it, quickly removing the wrap around it. Jason took a bite from his own burger to resist grinning like an idiot. He carefully (not subtly) slid a can of soda across the seat.

"So what's the catch?" asked Nico, breaking their silence. He took the can and opened it with one hand (fingerless gloves still on). Consider Jason  _astonished_  at this point.

"Wha— huh?" Jason stammered intelligently. It took him a moment to process what the other had said, before lowering his food down to his lap and to focus all his attention on Nico. "There is no  _catch_ , I'm just giving you food."

He was a bit offended that Nico thought that Jason was trying to gain something by giving him food. He did this with almost  _everyone_.

(His mother swore, if he didn't stop being so nice, he'd be canonized by the time he was twenty-one. He wasn't even Catholic.)

Nico gave a bemused look at his response, one brow raised with one lip pulled up to a half-smile. Jason didn't want to think about how expressive his face was. "What, so chivalry's not dead yet?"

"I suppose not," Jason mumbled, taking a bite from his burger. Did subways always seem  _this_  bright? Jason squinted through his glasses.

"But there were like,  _three times_  that my butt got grabbed so it might be  _a little_  dead. Does that make sense to you? Chivalry may be half-dead. Maybe even... three-quarters dead?"

A smile broke out Nico's face, his shoulders shaking in silent laughter. Jason tried not to stare, seriously. He made a physical effort. But Nico looked...  _angelic_.

"What?" Jason laughed into his question.

"You're  _so_  weird," Nico told him, voice a pitch higher. Jason's heart basically skipped a beat and he should be a little embarrassed about that, because he didn't even know Nico's last name yet.

"You already said that," Jason muttered, feeling his face flush. Quick, Jay.  _Distract yourself_.

He cleared his throat, taking a deep breath.

"Speaking of  _weird_ ," Jason started, trying to be smooth about changing the subject.

"I never caught your last name. Mine's Grace. People like making puns with that so, feel free, I guess. Since I kinda did bother you first," he rambled. He inwardly cursed 'word spill' for even existing.

Why did everything have to happen like this?

Next to him, Nico was extremely oblivious to his inner struggles."di Angelo. And before you ask, yes, I'm Italian," Nico responded, taking the awkward out and basically  _downing_  his can of Sprite. Jason thought that maybe Nico didn't even know that it was an out.

Jason tried not to laugh at the irony of it all.  _Angelic_ , he'd described Nico's smile as  _angelic_. His last name was di Angelo. Just  _perfect_.

(He also tried not to look at Nico's throat as the younger teen washed his food down with soda.)

"I  _thought_  I heard an accent," Jason said conversationally, providing quick escape from an embarrassing situation that almost happened. His voice sounded kind of stiff. "Did you grow up here in the states?"

Nico nodded, "My mother, sister, and I settled into DC from Venice when I was really young. I've been... travelling around ever since. I actually just recently got back from an overseas trip with a bunch of... acquaintances of mine."

"Business or pleasure?" Jason asked, genuinely curious.

Nico rolled his eyes, grumbling. "Definitely business," he said with a scowl. Jason gave a chuckle at that.

"You travel a lot then?"

A look flashed across Nico's face and Jason could feel his eyes bulging out of his head at the familiarity of that look. (He's seen that look flash across Thal's face. He's seen it a lot and yet he still didn't know what it meant.)

"You can say that," Nico stated stiffly. Jason took that as his cue to stop asking about this subject.

"Say... Do you... Go to this summer camp in Long Island, by any chance?"

 _Great_  change of subject there, Jay. Three points to Hufflepuff. That's  _exactly_  how you socialize. You ask what comes to mind first. Now you sound like some kind of predator.

Nico froze, looking like he was at a bit of a loss for words. Jason set to panic mode, voice rising an octave. "N-not to be intrusive, or anything! But, my sister has the same shirt and necklace."

There was a moment where Nico looked confused at the statement. Then, realization set in with his mouth forming a little 'o' in surprise.

Jason notes that this has been the most emotion he's seen on Nico's face since  _ever_.

"I heard that Thalia was staying with her brother but..." Nico paused, his face looking thoughtful for a moment. He glanced at Jason's face and directly into his eyes, and the latter could feel his breath get taken away. His mouth dried as the seconds ticked by. Nico was still looking at him.

For a moment, Nico's complexion looked a little rosy. He went back to his food, breaking out from the moment."The only thing you both have in common are the eyes. N-not to be rude, or anything," he stuttered.

When Nico started stammering through his sentences, Jason shouldn't  _feel_  all warm and blushy like a sixteen year old, because it's completely inappropriate and a little rude of him to think that it's cute that Nico was embarrassed of something like that.

"I should be saying 'I get that a lot'," Jason said to break the tension, rubbing at the nape of his neck. "But I literally met Thal in person like, a week ago."

Nico blinked, crumpling the paper wrap of his burger and shoving it in his pocket. "Really?" He asked, genuinely curious. Jason tried not to notice how brown Nico's eyes were if you looked closely. Tried not to notice how it looked under the harsh lights of the subway train. The dark brown with little yellowish undertones swallowed by his pupils.

"Yeah!" Jason forced out, his voice sounding a little bit too enthusiastic. He felt himself flush and tried not to let it show that he's been staring too long. 

He averted his gaze to his hands, fiddling with the cold that spread in his hand as he held his can of soda, his food long forgotten."At first I was a bit doubtful about her telling me that we were related because, well, where's her proof, right? But, she really proved herself somehow. I didn't know how she got my number though, weird."

(He was honestly surprised when Thalia told him, over the phone, about the mole on his left foot. And the  _very_ infamous tale of how he got the scar on his lip.

But it had proven some suspicions. Like how his mother had baby clothes for girls even though she mentioned having known his gender before his birth, or the fact that she had to give up her acting career even though she only had  _one_  child.)

"I think I have an idea about that," Nico said, a smile slipping onto his face, his gaze distant.

"Yeah? How'd she manage?"

Nico turned to him, smile still very real and now pointed towards his direction. Jason thanked whatever deity out there that he was seated. He would have fell flat on his ass.

"Not my story to tell."

 

(He never finished his food so he had to hand it to one of the hobos he passed before heading home.)


	3. A Little Bit of a House Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Graces's stories to tell. Well, kinda.
> 
> Thalia invited a lot of guests today.

There were a lot of other times he should have asked. Like when she told him over breakfast that her friend (and maybe a few more too) was coming over today.

But _nooo_ , he didn't ask during breakfast, 'cause Jason had the _worst_ timing ever. Of all fucking time.

Jason tried to decipher Thalia as she brushed her teeth. He honestly did.

“We have to talk, Thal,” he confronted her that morning, leaning onto the doorway to the bathroom.

All he got from her were raised eyebrows, and an open-mouthed (pink foamed) ‘ashah’. Which may have meant either ‘what’s that?’ or ‘Asia’ in a really weird foreign accent.

Jason decided that it was the former, and resigned to the fact that he was going to have to just wait for her to finish her morning routine.

He propped his feet up on the cluttered center table as he waited for her to finish.

* * *

 

“What did you want to talk about, Jay?” Thalia asked, walking out of the bathroom, hair dripping onto her shirt and feet still visibly wet. Jason looked over at her from his seat on the couch, trying not to think about how he had to wipe the floor later, probably.

“So I talked to the guy at the subway,” Jason started, frowning. Thalia bounced at her feet, jumping onto the couch beside him.

“Ooh! What did he say? What’d you talk about?” Thalia asked, excited. Jason rubbed a hand on his face. It was too early to be _that_ excited. There was a cheeky glint in her eyes, the freckles on her cheeks stretching across her face as she grinned.

“I thought you knew him, Thal. I stand corrected,” Jason answered because judging from her response, she obviously didn’t know that it was Nico. Jason sighed, both in relief and exasperation.

Thalia raised a brow in askance, further confirming Jason’s theory.

“Do you know a, uh... Nico di Angelo from your summer camp?” He asked instead. Thalia froze from her excited bouncing and blinked. Once, twice.

Then she started cackling.

“ _Oh_ my gods! Him? Really?” Thalia laughed a bit more, practically wheezing as she talked. She rolled into Jason, clutching her stomach. The couch groaned in effort to hold them between the cushions. “ _He’s_ the kid from the subway? Oh my gods! This is _so_ perfect!”

“Alright, alright. Thals, _Thalia,_ ” Jason called out, trying to get his sister to sit still and shut up. Her laughs turned to giggles, which, Jason assumed, was the most quiet he was going to get for now. So he took the chance.

“What’s wrong with him, then? What’s the deal?” Jason asked, a little bit annoyed and a little bit amused at his sister’s reaction. “Is there anything I should know about? And why you’re acting like I should be ridiculed for being friends with him? Because that's what the laughter's implying right now.”

“No, it’s okay! There’s _nothing_ to be ridiculed about _that_ ,” Thalia reassured, holding her hands up. Jason gave her a look that said that he certainly did _not_ believe her in that statement.

She deflated a little, shrugging. “Okay, well _maybe_ there _is_ something. A little. But I am your big sister and it is my _sworn_ duty to ridicule you. I just _can’t believe you, Jay!_ ”

Jason blinked. Okay, there was definitely _no_ stopping Thalia now.

 _“You_ , the sunniest— okay, maybe _second_ sunniest— person I know in the _whole wide world_ , my baby brother has a _crush_ on Nico di Angelo! Like, the kid is _literally_ death incarnate.” Thalia laughed harder and Jason could feel himself flush. Whether it was in anger or embarrassment, he couldn’t tell.

“I _do not_ havea crush on him— I don’t have a crush on _anyone_! And he is _not_ death incarnate!” Jason hastily replied, a little bit embarrassed of how quickly he’d defended Nico’s honor.

Thalia gave him a (thankfully) short laugh, “Yeah, right. Look at who you're tryin'a deal with, Jay. I never forgot how you behaved around that other kid you liked when you were _three_.” Jason could feel himself blush. He didn’t even _remember_ anything before he was five!

“Anyway. Nico’s always been all doom and gloom since four years ago. He only just opened up for decent social interaction like, a few weeks ago.”

“How come only a few weeks ago?”

Thalia winked at him, “Not my story to tell, little brother.” Jason jolted at the memory that was brought back with the statement.

 _Not my story to tell_ , Nico had told him the exact same thing last night. Would Thalia tell him the story now?

The silence hung heavy between them as Jason _refused_ to look at his sister, didn’t want to believe that she’ll end up lying to him. It was a bit too… _naïve_ , per se. How could he believe so much on a person who hasn’t been a part of his life since _ever_?

“... Thal?”

“Yeah, Jay?”

“How _did_ you manage to get my phone number?”

There was a moment where Jason was sure that Thal was searching his face. _Why would he ask that question_ , he could almost hear her think to herself.

Why wouldn't he? Didn't he deserve to know?

“ _Jason_ ,” Thalia started, tone sounding pained and hesitant as she placed her hand on his. He ended up averting his focus at that point, still not wanting to look at her. She squeezed but said nothing about it.

“I was already gone for two months, Jason. I got as far as Nebraska then went back to Oakland as fast as I could. I _regretted_ it a lot, running away. I still do. I needed to _see_ if— if _Beryl_ lasted long enough to raise you properly. See if you were _okay_. She was _still_ in her drinking phase when I left,” Thalia’s voice shook, Jason looked at her, holding her hand in his firm grip.

“You guys _moved_. I didn’t know where you _were_ , Jay. I didn't know if you grew happy, or if you made good friends at school. I wasn't there to help you in your struggles or, hell,  protect you from your own _mother_ ,  when or if that happened."

Jason held his tongue. The roles were quite reversed from what Thalia had imagined.

When they left Oakland, Beryl tried for rehabilitation, and Jason was her support, even at age five. His Aunt June had appeared one day (the details were a bit fuzzy in his head. Didn't know where she was from or if they really were related to begin with). She helped with cooking and cleaning, sometimes even potty training, and Jason's basic skills and manners.

But his mother, Beryl, was resolute. She _wanted_ to recover. She was adamant about it, not after Jason's father's hit and run. Aunt June helped nurse her back to health.

By age ten, June was gone, much like how she'd suddenly appeared; Beryl had a stable job, a stable income; and Jason had took to himself, had learned to do most of the house chores while his mother was out. It was a system that worked around Jason's school days and Beryl's work days.

But Thalia didn't know _any_ of that. She sounded hopeless, like there were going to be tears following soon.

She didn't know yet. But he _will_ tell her.

One day. Just, maybe not right now.

“I didn’t want to run away, Jason. But I _had to_. I _promise_ if I _knew_ any other way to keep you safe…” She croaked out, seconds away from breaking down.

Jason didn’t know what she was going on about. His safety? What about it? Thalia looked into his eyes, as if willing him to just _understand_.

A question for another day, Jason decided. He nodded, reaching out to hug his sibling.

“I was— _am_ safe, Thal. 've lived through the fourteen years without you, taking care of both mom _and_ myself. Whatever you did, it was all you could do,” he reassured, rubbing soothing circles on her back, laying his head on her shoulder.

“I— I asked my dad for your number,” she continued. Jason tried not to let the tension seep into his shoulders, tried to will himself to be patient. He knew next to nothing about Thalia's father. “And I called you, a few days after we got back from Greece.”

He didn’t know what Thalia had been through, didn’t know what she was talking about. Didn't know why she was in Greece or how her father had gotten his number.  But he trusted her. So much. For so little reasons.

He supposed that this was what unconditional love was.

The doorbell rang, breaking their moment. Jason pulled back, fixing his sister’s hair.

“I’ll tell you all about it another time, Jay. When I'm ready. I promise,” she said, a determined and anxious look on her face. Jason nodded. Thal seemed like the kind of person who would keep her promises.

 _Seemed_. Jason could feel something drop into the pit of his stomach. He still didn’t know enough about her.

But she wasn't the only one who had something to tell. So he supposes they were quite even. He let the weight set in his stomach.

With that, Jason stood up to open the door, leaving Thalia to compose herself on the couch.

He was greeted by a very non-friendly looking blond with the stormiest gray eyes he’s ever seen. In his tight Captain America tee and blue pajama pants, he felt a little inadequate even though she was wearing casual clothes too. Her scrutiny was getting a bit unsettling.

Then she looked down at a piece of paper, a deep scowl marring her face, as if trying to decipher the messy scribble. Jason’s line of sight was suddenly filled with her blond curls and a long grey streak.

“Ugh, she has the _ugliest_ handwriting. If this is the wrong apartment, I’m gonna maim her when we get to her,” she mumbled under her breath. Jason tried not to think about how he actually believed her mutterings. He prayed for whoever the blond was going to maim within the next few hours.

“How can I help you, miss?” Jason asked, because he is a _very_ polite young man, despite the scary looking blond teen at his door.

A taller teen with dark hair and green eyes (a peculiar color for green, this one)walked up and bumped her in the arm with the dopiest grin that Jason’s ever seen . “No rush, Annie. We’ve got all day,” he reassured her.

‘Annie’ rolled her eyes and looking back up at him. Jason gulped, meeting her eyes, smiling despite being a little unnerved. “Do you happen to know a Thalia Grace who lives in this building by any chance?”

Jason blinked, and took a moment to process the information.

“ _Oh_ , right,” he finally muttered. Thalia _had_ mentioned something about a friend coming over. “Please, come in. She’s at the couch right now.” He said, stepping aside to let them in.

The duo looked taken aback, glancing at each other. Then the taller teen’s grin turned a little too mischievous for Jason.

“Who is it, Jay?” Asked Thal as she entered the hall, eyes looking a little puffy. She paused, looking like a deer in headlights.

Then she started yelling. Jason vaguely worried about their neighbors complaining about the ruckus.

“ _Annabeth Chase_ , I thought I told you only to bring _close_ friends!”

Jason felt a hand on his shoulder but he was too confused to pull away. Dopey Grin stood beside him, shaking his head, a hand over his heart, “ _Ouch_ , Thalia. Are we _not_ close friends?”

Thalia sneered, “Not close enough, _Jackson. Don't push your luck_.”

Annabeth groaned, pushing them aside to enter the hall and close the door, “This is _exactly_ _why_ I didn’t want to bring you with, Seaweed Brain.”

‘Jackson’ waved off Annabeth’s comment, leaning a bit of his weight onto Jason. “Who is this, your boyfriend? Pretty tall. I didn’t seem to think you were into blonds, Grace,” he rambled, bumping Jason at the hip. Thalia flushed, shoulders tensing as she promptly walked off into the apartment.

‘Jackson’ was a few centimeters shorter than him but Jason held his gaze when Thalia left the hall. “Dude, I’m her _brother_ ,” Jason stated slowly.

And then suddenly his dopey grin turned into a very confused face. Annabeth hummed in amusement as she walked past them. Whether that was because of Percy’s reaction or his statement, he didn’t know and also probably didn’t want to know. He decided that Annabeth Chase was a mystery to him, a mystery that he’s not willing to solve.

“I’m _really_ sorry about that, man,” ‘Jackson’ said, finally dropping out of his dazed, confused state and into a look of shame and embarrassment. “You just— you don’t _look_ alike, you know?”

Jason snorted, rolling his eyes. “Tell me about it.”

“M’name’s Percy, by the way. Your sister calls me by my last name but try not to follow her steps,” he said, nonchalantly patting his shoulder as they walked down the hall.

“Jason,” he replied, introducing himself. Then Percy started laughing a little. Jason didn’t know why.

Was it because of his name or because he was still a bit ashamed of the stunt he caused a while ago?

When he stopped laughing, they reached the couch. Percy plopped down while Jason calmly took a seat. “Sorry, man,” Percy said. “It’s just that, we’re both named after really famous Greek heroes and it’s kind of throwing me off the loop right now.”

Jason thought about it. What Greek hero was named Perc— Oh, _oh_. Then he laughed, “Yeah, I suppose that _is_ a little weird.”

“Hey, Jay, you never answered my question!” Thalia called out from the kitchen. Jason turned in his seat, blinking. She seemed to have forgotten about earlier. But she also seemed to be pointedly avoiding Percy's gaze.

“About what?” Percy asked for him.

“About what he and… that guy talked about in the subway!” Thalia subtly referred to their earlier topic. Jason was conflicted. Should he be upset that she brought it up with friends (fellow campers, no less) over or was he going to be relieved that she hadn't mentioned a name?

He decided on both, frown feeling more like a pout.

"Oh, was it some hobo? Did someone grab your ass?" Percy cut in, shit-eating grin in place. Jason elbowed him at his side with a huff.

"No, it wasn’t and absolutely," he answered Percy. He looked at Thal. "Can't we talk about this some _other_ time?"

There was no masking the complaining whine in his tone. Thalia laughed, shaking her head.

"Oh, don't be such a big _baby_ , Jay. You _are_ just friends, right?" she asked him, her own mischievous  grin matching Percy's. Jason groaned.

He glared at Percy, then glanced at Annabeth. "If you two breathe a word of this outside this apartment, I _swear to God._ "

Percy held his hands up, turning in his seat to face Jason. Annabeth walked around them to take a seat on the arm of the couch next to Percy. Thalia stayed by the table.

And so he told them. Everything from the ass-grabbing train rides to Nico's hesitance about Jason giving him food. But he never mentioned a name. _Ever_.

Percy smiled, "Ah yes, food. A way to a man's heart is _always_ through his stomach, as they say." He put a hand on his chest, eyes closed for dramatic effect. Jason glared at him while Thalia snickered in her seat on the kitchen table.

(“Probably why Perce got jacked at that store a while back,” Thalia stage whispered to Annabeth, leaving Jason bemused and Percy a bit offended.)

"Okay but what's with the legit black sword he carries around?" asked Jason.

"What, like this knife Annabeth has around for survival reasons?" Percy asked. Though he said it was a knife, he was lifting up a bronze dagger.

"Percy, what the fuck?!" Annabeth shouted, snatching the dagger that was dangling loosely  in his grip.

Jason laughed, thinking Percy may have made the mistake on purpose. He caught a look at Percy's arm, there was... something written on it.

"That's a nice tat, Percy," Jason commented, his voice seeming distant and distracted as he stared at the tattoo. The ink had a solid black color that changed with the lighting on Percy's arm, _SPQR_ and a trident. The font looked like it was typed, straight and consistent on thickness. Professional.

"Roman empire stuff, huh? That's pretty neat. What's the trident for?" He asked, still very curious.

When no one answered, Jason looked around the room and leaned back into the couch. He silently willed himself to sink down and let the couch devour him.

A kind of tense silence hung between the four of them. Annabeth and Percy gave each other looks that Jason couldn't read, before looking at Thalia. Thalia didn't look at either of them, fiddling with her bracelet. Jason felt like he said something wrong.

"S-sorry, was that a personal thi—? I, okay, I'll shut up now," Jason stuttered, tight-lipped and fidgeting with his fingers. A force of habit: he took of his glasses and awkwardly pulled at his tight shirt to wipe off the dirt on it.

He realized that, that _may_ have been an awkward set of questions, he should really learn how to control what goes out of his mouth.

Jason laughed nervously, the sound echoing around the kitchen. He gulped, putting his glasses back on, "Never mind that. So, uh... What's the thing with Nico?"

"Huh?" Percy looked up, staring at Jason like he just said that he had five kids or whatever.

Then Jason realized he _wasn't supposed to say names_. Thalia should really inform him of these important things before she pushes him to the deep dangerous sea of meeting her friends. Her extremely observant friends.

Thalia started snickering (which should be categorized as a strained cackle), quickly dissipating the tense silence. Jason gave a sheepish grin but Percy was still looking extremely confused.

Then, slowly (but surely), realization trickled into Percy’s face, as if someone had just whispered the secrets of the universe into his ear and he was just now making sense of it. “ _Oh my gods_ ,” he muttered.

Jason’s sheepish grin was replaced by a smile as Percy stood and started smacking him lightly on the arm. “ _Oh my gods, Jason Grace. Are you fucking serious?!_ ” was the continuous stream that came out of Percy’s mouth. Thalia and Jason were now laughing loudly while Annabeth was trying to calm him down.

“Annabeth, he— and Nico. I’m,” Percy struggled, looking back and forth between his girlfriend and Jason. Thalia was had her forehead on the table, cackling, still. Jason kicked her shin again, lightly this time.

It was about that time, while Percy was still shocked and while Annabeth started laughing, that the doorbell rang. Jason blinked.  Who could it be this time?

“I’ll get it, “ Jason excused himself from the group, stumbling to get the door. Maybe it was a delivery? Or one of the neighbors going to tell them off for all the ruckus? Lord, Jason hoped the latter wasn’t the case.

He grabbed the knob and opened the door, ignoring the snickering down the hallway. At first he saw nothing, then he looked down a bit and caught brown messy hair and the lady who owned it.

She… was gorgeous, to be frank. Jason has known many gorgeous women in his life and wow, here comes another one.

“H–hi, is this Thalia Grace’s apartment?” she asked, leaning back a bit. Jason froze. Another friend of Thalia’s?

“Right this way, miss,” he said, standing aside to let her in. She didn’t move for a moment, looking a bit lost. She stared at him, _directly into his eyes_ , and Jason honestly couldn’t tell what her eye color was.

After a few seconds, she ducked into the apartment, leaving Jason slightly dazed by the doorway.

Okay, that was… _weird_. But Jason wasn’t one to judge character after a few moments of interaction (well, not usually).  With the shake of his head, he followed her into the apartment.

“Piper! _Oh my gods_!” Thalia shouted, practically tackling the shorter teen. Piper laughed at her reaction, barely swaying.

“I can’t believe you’re back,” Thalia said, wonder in her expression as she cupped Piper’s face and pecked her on the nose.

“You didn’t tell me that you were coming back from LA, you cheeky little—,” she stopped, making a high-pitched squealing noise that Jason didn’t even know was possible. Especially not coming from his older sister. This was the brash, cackling woman who was always a bit on the gruff side.

Jason was surprised to feel the unconscious smile on his face as his sister continued to pepper the new visitor’s face with kisses. This was a side he’d never seen before, he was going to cherish it while it lasted.

He sat back down on his seat next to Percy on the couch. Come to think of it, Thal and Percy weren’t getting along that much earlier either. Was that all a front?

Thalia seemed to be the proud kind of person, maybe it was a pride thing between the two?

Jason didn’t dwell on it.

* * *

 

As Jason walked out of the shower that evening, yawning as the mixture of brisk cool air conditioning and the shower steam hit him at the same time, he glanced at his sister’s bedroom door. Which was closed right now.

With a fond little smile and a chuckle, he knocked. “If you both are doing what I _think_ you’re doing, better keep it down. Everyone made a ruckus today and I need to get up _really_ early tomorrow, a’right?”

He heard a muffled, mortified shout of ‘ _oh my gods, Jay_ ’ and Piper’s laughter from behind the door as he sprinted past to close his own behind him. He laughed as he heard Thalia kicking at the wall connected that connected their rooms.

He was _not_ going to deal with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was really emotional and stuff. a lot of exploitation on how this jason was formed in my head in the past weeks. 
> 
> (dear lord pls don't have any typos or errors. heaven forbid they're out of character. ugh.)
> 
> will update within the next _five_ days this time, kind of down in the dumps so i have to rearrange myself and try to chalk up the fifth chapter. also, comments are appreciated, guys! if i or cha can't reply, pls know that it's still very much appreciated.  
>  -sj


	4. of air-conditioning and movies left to play in the background

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Jason trips and falls.
> 
>  
> 
> Hercules is a dumb movie. But it was Jason's favorite as a kid, okay? Could you please _stop_ with the commentary?

“Do you have _all_ your underwear?” She asked, just to humiliate him. After all, it _was_ her sworn duty _._

But Jason wasn't gonna back down easy. He kept his face straight and answered all questions monotonously. “Yes, Thal.”

“Have you eaten anything?”

“You stuffed me with _five pancakes_ this morning.”

“Well, you don’t seem very _grateful_ ," she grumbled.

"That's because it felt like you were going to sacrifice me after you finished stuffing me."

She huffed, crossing her arms in defiance."Well, you're _welcome_. Hmm… Oh, you didn’t leave any of your homework, did you?”

“I didn’t bring any, I did it the week before you called me here.”

“You goddamn nerd,” she snickered.

Jason gave her a dry look. “I’m gonna go now.”

Her stance stiffened, eyes darting back and forth from behind him and at him. “Wait, _wait_! Uhh, did you bring your extra clothes?”

Jason groaned in frustration, “ _Thalia_. I’m leaving some of my clothes behind _with_ you for my next visit. Can you _please_ stop stalling? Now? Before the flight leaves?”

When Thalia gave him the puppy dog-eyed look, he groaned again. He sighed, he was gonna miss her alright. Rearranging his backpack, he held his arms out for a hug, knowing that Thalia would come sprinting in.

It took all his might to keep them from falling down. That would’ve gave Jason a huge bruise if that happened. Thalia squeezed her arms around his chest.

“I’ll miss you, Jay. So much,” she mumbled into his shirt, that was now becoming increasingly damp. Jason could feel his eyes water at the warmth of their embrace. It was only now dawning onto him that he won’t be seeing his sister until a few months later.

“Aw _c’mon_ , Thal, this is a new shirt and I just cleaned my glasses,” he could hear his voice crack, a mock-complaining tone in his voice as he hugged her tighter. There was no denying the tears now. “I’ll miss you too, Thal, but c’mon. You don’t want to see me cry.”

“Anything to keep you here,” he heard her say, physically trembling in his embrace. Jason smiled, sniffing, patting her head before pulling back.

He leaned down a bit to get to her level. She was shorter than him and he was counting on that. Small victories and all. “I’ll make you a deal,” he said. Thalia rubbed at her eyes, sniffing a little, nodding.

“When I come back here for Halloween and winter break, I’m gonna bring some of your old stuff and _all_ of my Halloween candy so we can eat it together. How does _that_ sound?”

Thalia coughed out, laughing. Jason mirrored her watery smile, pushing a stray lock of hair away from her face. Dark hair, pale and freckly. So different from him. Blond and tan through and through.

She pulled him in for one last hug, kissing him on his forehead before pushing away abruptly. He could feel a smile slowly forming on his face, a kiss, to seal the deal.

Thalia put her arms around herself, clutching at her hoodie’s sleeves. Her hands were shaking a little. “That’s a deal. Now _go_ before I change my mind.”

He beamed, practically _giggling_ , stumbling to balance himself.  “Love you, Thal.”

“Love you too, bro.”

He heard the PA saying that his flight was leaving in five minutes and rushed through the airport gates, only pausing to wave her goodbye.

“Don’t let anyone into my room, okay!” He shouted over the crowd, barely hearing Thalia’s laughter over the noise. The lady behind him scoffed. Jason gave her a sheepish grin, then looked back at Thalia.

She was smiling again, and that was all that mattered.

“See ya! Have a great flight!” She shouted back, waving her arms wildly. People dodged her limbs and Jason finally turned to board the plane.

Two minutes before liftoff, Jason was still beaming as he settled into his seat beside a sleeping old guy.

Fishing his headphones out of his pocket, he plugged it into his iPod, buckled up, and closed his eyes.

 

* * *

 

Berkeley, these days, was unbearably _dry_.

Then again, the whole of California was unbearably dry before, during, _and_ after summer. Nothing really new.

What _was_ new was the picture now posted up on his bedroom wall, far from his mother’s reach and right next to his desk. It was a picture of him, Thalia, Percy, Annabeth, and Piper.

Jason smiled at it every morning, reminding himself that he’ll be coming back to that one day. He’ll probably have to buy a shit ton of film too. Thalia had nearly drained his film preserves. Polaroids were so fucking expensive.

Today was a chore day, as much as it was a dry day. His mother was out somewhere with her new boyfriend, his homework was done, his friends at school didn’t have any parties planned, and the fridge was unbearably very empty.

Clad in his loose striped tank, khaki shorts and flip flops, he stuck the note on the front door, pocketing his extra key, wallet, and phone. He squinted in the sunlight, his glasses automatically tinting as he walked through the barely accommodating heat.

 

Downtown wasn’t crowded, which didn’t surprise Jason all that much. Most people would want to avoid this heat, hiding inside stores and whatever booths that had air-conditioning.

No one in their right mind would be caught walking in this heat, but Jason has proved (time and time again) that he was definitely not in his right mind. Ever. And he had nothing against it.

The grocery store wasn’t crowded either, save for the certain number of health geeks lining up and down the fruits and vegetables area. Jason took out his phone, going to his memos and grabbed a cart.

He was gonna savor this grocery store’s air-conditioning and he was gonna be _productive_ about it.

* * *

 

He had three heavy bags balanced on each of his arms. A month’s worth of utilities, food, and some snacks weighing him down. His wallet was regretfully light but he knew this was a necessity. He’d raise enough money again. Some day.

There weren’t any cabs or buses coming by, which was eerie. The streets at this time weren’t usually _this_ crowded.

There were a couple of people standing in the middle of the road too. Just… standing there.

(Where the hell did _they_ come from? And why the hell were people ignoring it?)

He looked back and forth the roads. What the hell was going on here?

He crossed the road, resigning to the fact that he was just going to have to walk home, in this unbearable heat.

He avoided a hobo and almost bumped into another person.

Then, something caught onto his flip flops. Whether it was week-old gum, a crack on the path, or just plain _thin air_ , it didn’t matter because he didn’t fucking see it. Jason was falling and he had fruits and veggies that were gonna be as bruised as his knees were on his way home.

And his _glasses_. They fell off his face. Goddamn cheap frames that came off easy.

Strong, cold hands brought him out of slow motion and put him back to his feet. His groceries were safe but his glasses continued to be in general peril.

He supposed they’ve lived a very tough and dangerous life as Jason’s personal specs (for the last year). But the heat did things to even the toughest of possessions. He suspected maybe the frames were gonna break and melt into the asphalt.

There was a second before he shook out of his daze, a second after his glasses _clacked_ hard on the asphalt and absolutely nothing happened, or so Jason thought.

He couldn’t really see.

For a second, he just stood there, in some stranger’s cold, jacketed arms and, wait. _Who the fuck_ would wear a goddamn _jacket_ in the middle of the Californian _heat?!_

Jason’s breath hitched as a chill ran down his sweat-slicked back, where his tank was sticking, and he drew back. He squinted through the harsh sunlight, eyes trying to readjust from his tinted view to this hella bright landscape.

The dark-haired stranger let go of him, crouching down to grab his glasses.

“Th-thanks, dude,” Jason muttered, squinting at the apparently dark-haired stranger who just saved his groceries and his knees. Ugh, he needed contacts. If he did, he wouldn’t have spent all those years taping his frames together or squinting hard during football games.

“Don’t mention it,” the stranger replied and Jason was taken aback as he tentatively took his (thankfully unharmed) glasses from the stranger.

That voice sounded… familiar. He could feel the cold sweat trickle down his neck and shivered. Why was it cold all of a sudden?

He blinked as his eyes readjusted back to his glasses’ tint. He blinked, a nervous and embarrassed smile on his face.

Then he froze. At the corner of his eye, he thought something was different. He whipped his head around. There was a lot less people on the streets for a split second.

And then, as fast as Jason had noticed the difference, they were there again, a flickering image, entirely solid and standing completely still and _looking directly at him_. Or was it at the stranger who saved him and his groceries?

Speaking of.

Jason glanced back at aforementioned stranger, and had to blink thrice to process who it was.

There he stood, smirk on his face, a fingerless-gloved hand on his hip, the other resting on his black sword, one brow raised in askance. In all his glory, Nico di Angelo, from his sister’s summer camp and the subways of New York.

The stranger who just saved Jason and his groceries.

“Wha— how? _Dude_!” Jason shouted, smile on his face, arms spreading out, heavy grocery bags swishing and swooshing in response, rocking him back a bit. He ceased his abrupt movement, remembering that he had the whole of two bottles of Sprite in one of his bags.

Jason settled for just beaming through his sweat, stepping aside for people who might more space to walk in on the sidewalk. “Nico! What are _you_ doing in Berkeley?!”

He laughed, looking the smaller teen up and down, “And in a fucking _jacket,_ of all things to wear. Are you nuts? Are you _not_ feeling all this—” he gestured to his very sweaty self, “Californian heat?”

Nico snorted, gloved hand running through his very dry hair. He looked down at his jacket sleeve, making a face. Jason noticed the shimmer of moisture on it. “Oh, I am _feeling_ it, alright. You just got all your ‘Californian heat’ all over me _and_ my fucking jacket.”

Jason rolled his eyes, walking side by side Nico. He carefully ignored the implications of the previous sentence that came out of Nico's mouth. _Clean thoughts, Jay._

“Oh, _excuse me_ , Your Majesty. I didn’t realize that princes such as yourself weren't capable of _sweating_.”

“Can I—?” Nico gestured to the bags Jason was carrying, completely ignoring Jason's dramatic impulses (which were in _full_ swing).

“O-oh, sure!” Jason replied, sounding a bit too enthusiastic.

He carefully transferred the bags into Nico’s hands, not at all bothering to react to the brief touch of their fingers. He grabbed one of the bags from his other hand and they continued walking towards Jason’s house.

( _Cold fingers, why were they always so cold?_ He cleared his head.)

“So, you never answered my question,” Jason said, looking ahead to avoid any passersby while walking. Nico shifted the unequal weight of the bags on each arm. “Why’re you in Cali?”

They paused by an empty intersection before continuing their trek.

“My half-sister’s camp is near the Bay Area and my father lives in LA, I decided to drop by her camp for a bit, before I met up with my father. But I stopped by here halfway,” Nico answered, barely looking like he was struggling. Jason didn’t hear any change in his breathing or anything.

It was kind of unfair how nonchalant and dry he was looking right now, next to a sweaty, nervous Jason.

“Why’d you stop? San Fran's only a few more hours from here,” Jason asked, carefully stepping over a crack on the path. Nico wouldn’t be rescuing him from that with the bags they were carrying now.

(Or maybe he could? Jason was definitely not going to want to find out.)

Nico shrugged as best as he could, and there was a strain on his nonchalance, like it was practiced. Jason didn’t say anything. “I needed a break, go somewhere no one knew me. I don’t need to visit until probably a few hours from now anyway so, I think I’m good.”

Jason smiled, “Good enough to help a friend out with his groceries?”

“Exactly.”

The next few minutes was spent with Jason babbling on about school, how his old football teammates teased him about mother-henning them when they party out too often (Nico actually laughed at that), and how his mother had been seeing this guy for the two weeks Jason was in New York.

It was all _very_ scandalous.

It hadn’t even occurred to Jason that they were home when he spotted the blue fence. Only did he stop when he felt the ache in his arms from having to carry the groceries.

“What’s wrong?” Nico asked, stopping to look at Jason, who had frozen in the middle of the sidewalk.

Jason chuckled nervously, hoping that the heat made his blush extremely nonexistent. “We may have just walked past my place and I didn’t…”

Nico laughed, walking back down to his side. There was a light layer of sweat on his forehead now. Jason took satisfaction of the fact that he wasn’t the only one sweating in the heat anymore.

“Well, go on, then. We don’t have all day, Grace.”

Jason averted his gaze, jogging back to the fence and opening it for the both of them. He waddled up to the door.

His mom still wasn’t back, so he tore the paper off the door and put down the groceries on the porch.

Nico stood by the lawn, looking up at the house, groceries beside him. His jacket now tied to his waist. He was wearing a pastel blue shirt with an intricate pattern of roses and a skull in the middle.

Jason thought it brought out his freckles a bit.

Then Nico made a face at him. “Quit staring at me,” Nico stated, a bit of a whine in his tone. He leaned down to grab his bags.  He jogged up the porch to put the groceries down.

He fidgeted with pocketing his spare key. “Well…” Jason trailed off, opening the door and grabbing his share.

“Yeah?” Nico responded, a challenge and a smirk in his voice as he followed Jason inside with his own bags. “That all you got, Grace?”

Jason rolled his eyes, “Shut _up_ , Nico.” He put his bags down by the sink.

“Really?” Nico laughed, setting the bags down on the counter. “That was weak.”

“Your _face_ is weak.”

“That was weak _er_.”

Jason huffed, rolling his eyes. He opened the fridge, grabbing the cold pitcher of OJ and two cups from the dish cabinet. He filled those up and put the pitcher back in the fridge, handing the other cup to Nico.

He chugged his down with a sigh of relief. Home base. Nico carefully sipped at his.

As the air-conditioning finally hit him in full strength, he shivered and walked around the counter.

“I’m in _dire_ need of a shower," Jason informed the younger teen as he walked out of the kitchen.

"If you’re gonna leave, lock the door and fence behind you. Otherwise, make yourself comfortable, a'right? At least try to ride out the mid-noon sun before bailing,” Jason shouted over his shoulder. His only response was a silent ‘okay’ before he jogged up the stairs for a shower.

He took a few steps back, "There are movies by the TV if you want!"

"Alright, Grace. Just go take your shower already!" Came the exasperated response.

Jason laughed in return, jogging back up the stairs. He certainly didn't need to be told twice.

God, the heat does good things to Jason _not_.

* * *

 

Jason walked into the kitchen, feeling a little content and sleepy from his cold shower. He was humming along to the song playing in the living room. He glanced at the open hall, smiling to see Nico’s dark hair from the couch while Hercules was playing on the TV.

“This is horribly inaccurate,” Nico said over the Go the Distance number. “Zeus isn’t that cheery _or_ friendly, and it’s _Heracles_ for the gods’ sakes. Also, did you _see_ the gods in this one? _Ugh_.”

Jason laughed, reaching up to put the cans into the cupboard. “It was to appeal to kids. You wouldn’t let five year olds watch Heracles going mad and killing his wife and kids, would you?”

Nico grumbled as Jason heard the telltale signs of Hercules walking into Zeus’ temple. “If they wanted cheery, they shouldn’t have picked a Greek _tragedy_ then,” the younger teen complained. Jason rolled his eyes.

He pulled the freezer open, frowning as his glasses steamed up in response to the cold.

“Did you _deliberately_ put that movie on to make commentary while watching it?” He asked, struggling to keep the freezer door open as he sifted through the plastic bag of frozen meat.

“No,” he heard from behind him as he shut the door to the freezer. Nico was on the counter, setting out the groceries, frowning at the two huge bottles of Sprite. “I put it on because I haven’t watched it before. I thought it was actually going to be genuinely great.”

Jason opened the lower fridge door, taking the goods that Nico was handing to him. “Well, Disney’s never known to be accurate before. Also, really? You haven’t watched that before?”

Nico shook his head, carefully placing a box of eggs away from the edge of the counter. “Like I said, I’ve been travelling around. Haven’t had much time to sit down and watch television for the last four years.”

Jason hummed in response, not wanting to push his  boundaries. Instead he said, “I won’t push you to watch that new Tristan McLean movie then.” Nico snorted in response.

“Piper’s gonna _kill_ me if I come within five feet of _any_ movie of her dad’s.”

“Tell me about it. She almost maimed Thal when she brought up that one gladiator movie from 2010,” Jason laughed.

“You’ve met Piper?” asked Nico as he gathered all the plastic bags and put one of the Sprite bottles on top of it.

Jason was clearly distracted. He repeated the question in his head. “Huh? Oh, yeah. She, Percy, and Annabeth came over a few days before I came back here.”

Nico hummed in response.

“How the _hell_ am I supposed to fit this all in this tray?” Jason mumbled to himself as he stared at the currently full fruits and vegetables drawer. He shrugged, placing the ones less likely to bruise on the top.

“I remember Piper getting really mad one time, when she saw one of her father’s movie posters in her cabin,” Nico said conversationally. “It was _terrible_. Also, don’t refrigerate those, they’re supposed to be in room temperature. Gimme that bag.”

Jason blinked, then shrugged, handing Nico the bag of fruits and veggies. Nico stood to look around the cupboards and found one that’ll satisfy him. He started placing them inside.

“Won’t those get eaten by rats?” Jason asked as he placed the other groceries inside.

Nico frowned, clearly having not thought of that before. Jason snorted and shut the door to the fridge.

“You have rats in here?” Nico asked, and it made Jason laugh a little. In the background, he could hear Hercules training to be a hero.

“I wouldn’t want to have to catch them but there is the risk of having rats, ants, and roaches so near the cereal boxes. Gimme that, I’ll go find a container for ‘em,” Jason said as he grabbed the bag from Nico.

“What time are you leaving then? Don’t you have to go meet your sister?” Jason asked conversationally as he looked around the dishwasher for some kind of container.

“I could go now, if I’m bothering you,” Nico replied. Jason stood up, meeting Nico’s eyes. Nico was fiddling with his rings again.

“You’re not bothering! You can stay however long you want,” Jason insisted, pushing his glasses up his nose.

Nico looked at him, dropping his hands on the counter. There was a look of disbelief on his face but there was a glint of hope in there somewhere. Jason smiled, shoulders relaxing as he put the bag down by the sink.

“Can I hug you?”

Nico blinked, looking a bit lost. Jason thought maybe he didn’t know how to respond to affection.

“Why do you ask?” He responded, voice cracking a bit, looking a little rosy around the ears. Jason felt all the oxygen leave his lungs.

Jason’s face warmed, “I, um, I dunno. You looked like you needed a hug and I didn’t know your boundaries and maybe you don’t like being touched and you might even get a punch in— Uh.” He laughed nervously, internally cursing himself for rambling. _Always_ with the rambling.

“Sorry, forget I ever asked,” he finally said, fishing his phone out to send a quick text to his mother to buy a container on her way back home.

“No,” he heard Nico speak up. Jason locked the screen to his phone, staring at his reflection. “Jason, it’s… nice of you to ask.”

Jason looked up, his hand falling limp at his side. Something bubbled up his throat, stuck between surprise, caution, sympathy, and…

Nico looked at him with the gentlest look he’s seen on Nico’s face. The genuine smile that made Jason forget to breathe for a total of five seconds before he sucked in a breath to stabilize himself.

“No one’s thought to ask before so, thanks,” Nico finally said, snapping them both out of the moment. He went back to fiddling with his rings, the rosy tint on his ears spreading to his cheeks, down his neck. Jason gulped.

Then he laughed, the giddiest laugh he’s let out since coming back from New York a week ago. It sounded goofy and made him want to cringe and compose himself, but Nico was starting to laugh too and that was all that mattered.

As always he looked bemused, but he seemed to like that Jason was laughing despite his confusion.

He started calming down, feeling his cheeks burn from loss of breath and a bit of embarrassment.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Nico.”

* * *

 

“I can wait for the bus by myself, Grace.”

“Well, _excuse_ me for keeping you company here, Your Royal Highness. It’s not like you didn’t help me carry my heavy grocery bags in the midday heat and help me put them away or anything.”

A sigh resounded and there was a silence. Nico kept his hands in his pockets, staring at his feet.

Jason’s features softened. “Drop by for a visit when you can, okay? Any time.”

Nico smirked at him, a teasing look on his face. Jason thought it looked new, like he hasn’t used that look on his face for a long time.“Even in the middle of the night?”

Jason laughed and rolled his eyes, rocking on his heels. “ _Especially_ in the middle of the night.”

“... You’re _so_ weird.”

“Your _face_ is weird.”

“I know.”

Jason laughed, pushing the younger teen by the shoulder. “Don’t go all self-deprecating on me while I’m trying to be lame.”

It was Nico’s turn to roll his eyes, his face looking serene under the cascading lights from coming from the tree they were standing under.  “Right, because you had to try.”

Jason hissed, fake-wincing at his hand, the one that had touched Nico’s shoulder. “Augh, that was a _burn_.”

“You dork.”

“Says the one carrying a _sword_?”

Another silence.

Jason tried for a smile as the bus finally arrived at the stop. Nico stepped in, and the bus didn’t move for a few moments. Jason found Nico by a window seat. Jason smiled, holding a hand up to wave goodbye.

Nico waved back and the bus hissed into motion, leaving Jason by the sidewalk.

His hand dropped to his side, limp at his side once more as he stared at the bus slowly shrinking in his line of perspective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dropping this in at 12:30 bc idk, I'm impatient af, i'm sorry, cha.
> 
> if this was up to par with what you might have expected, tell me in the comments! it's always appreciated when the readers notice the little things.
> 
> -sj
> 
> PS: next chap _might_ come out in three days. please be patient if it doesn't.


	5. Hey Batter Batter Swing!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason goes through some very important self-discovery stuff and plays baseball.
> 
>  
> 
> Repressed memories get really hard to ignore if the source himself keeps asking you about what happened in said repressed memories.

Jason sighed as he walked back to his house. It bordered on heavy, stressed out. Which Jason rarely was. He tried to keep his workload manageable, okay?

Okay, here’s the thing. He didn’t have a crush, okay? Just, _no_.

Well, _maybe_ a little. He groaned to himself. _Why_ did this have to happen? What happened to not getting attached? He blamed Thalia. _She_ was the one who kept on egging him on into thinking about this shit. Now he was starting to resign to the thoughts, agreeing with himself.

Which wasn’t his goal to begin with.

He just wanted to be friends. Was that _illegal_? No!

But here his heart and body went, betraying him every time Nico smiled or laughed at something. Betraying him every time Nico sounded earnest about something so small. Betraying him when his face flushed and his mouth tugged at a fond smile when he shared these moments with Nico.

(“ _The heart wants what it wants_ ,” the voice Aunt June crooned in the back of his head, words she never spoke in a voice that never quite formed well inside Jason’s head. It’s been ten years.)

 _Honestly_ , who _wouldn’t_ be sad to see Nico leave, right? Nico was _super_ fun to be around with! He was witty, sarcastic, cool, and really nice for helping Jason with his groceries even though it was in the middle of the fucking day, and he was wearing a jacket, and the bags were. Also, Nico was _pretty_ cute.

Thalia would probably be laughing out loud right now, telling Jason how _obvious_ his crush on the dude was. Well, fucking _sue_ him. It wasn’t like he _liked_ being obvious about his feelings. Wasn’t like he meant to be obvious about it.

Jason wheezed a bit, finally realizing that he’s been walking for too long, too _slow_ , and that the sun was setting. The street lamps turned on, offering to light the way. The memory rolled by in his head.

_Can I hug you?_

He flinched. Yeah, he _was_ pretty obvious, wasn’t he?

Jason felt his face heat up, a hand reaching up run through his hair. He took a deep breath, trying to lower the temperatures that rose up his neck.

Fuck it, whatever, he thought as he trotted up to the fence of his (now empty) house. He quits. He’ll fucking admit it.

He had a fucking crush on Nico di Angelo.

___

See, Jason _cannot_ fuck around when he’s playing baseball during PE and that’s partly because the teacher chose him for team captain; partly because the fickle part of the team was now depending on him, and; partly because the coach made him the fucking _pitcher_ of the team.

Which sucks because he has extremely shitty eyesight so the only good thing he could do was try and strategize in hopes of winning. Hot damn, high school baseball was competitive, even if it was just PE. These people did _not_ fuck around.

In all honestly though, Jason pondered if the coach made him captain only because apparently he looked “like a true blooded American, who knows the true meaning of war”. Which was kind of a shit reason,  stereotypical, a bit insulting, and did _not_ make any sense _at all_.

Anyway, back to the baseball game.

Jason narrowed his eyes as he looked at the batter, then to the catcher. He faintly remembered their names, but couldn’t recall because he doesn’t really talk to them that much. Schoolmates were a blur of faces and voices in his head now and he couldn’t seem to focus much on them what with his thoughts going back and forth from friends, to his mom, and to his sister.

(These days, his anchor was his studies. Always the first priority.)

He watched as the catcher signalled at him to throw a pitch, albeit impatiently. He subtly nodded and started to wind up, staring at the fence on the opposite direction. He had to focus on something out of his way, making some fake goal up in his head that he had to throw it there. It was almost reflexive as he put some force in his arm.

He watched the distance as some kid ran from—

 _Holy shit,_ are those _flying ladies?_

He threw the pitch wrong, the exit was too soft, his fingers were a bit too compliant. His jaw tightened as he tried not to let out a yelp. Thankfully, the batter was too preoccupied with something else to notice the quality of that pitch, much less even hit it. Swinging late, the ball made a weak _pat_ , a tell-tale sound that told Jason that the ball had hit the mitt and that he was _safe_.

Jason let go of the breath he didn’t know he was holding. That was their last strike and it was finally Jason’s team to bat.

He was at the end of the batting line, which was set up because everyone and their mother knew he fucking _sucked_ at batting. Luckily, he was team captain, so no one went and complained about how it might have just been him being lazy or something. It may have even come as a relief to some of his teammates. He didn’t blame them.

He called out to the coach, who was chewing on something by the bleachers, too busy to even watch the game. Jason asked if he could be excused. After several attempts of convincing, the coach finally agreed.

Here’s how the final attempt went:

“Alright, Mace, you can go. But you _have_ to be here after exactly _one_ minute.”

“Coach, you can’t go to the restroom, relieve yourself, wash up, and come back here under one minute. The nearest restroom is like, a five minute trip,” Jason argued. He stopped correcting him after the fifth time he called him something other than Grace. He was pretty sure the coach was doing it on purpose.

“Not with _that_ attitude you can’t. Now go do your thing, your time already started and I don’t really know how this stupid timer works. I swear, it’s rigged.”

Jason sighed exasperatedly, immediately running towards where the kid went. The other pitcher can probably hold the other team off for a little while. Hopefully.

If they lost the game because of him, he hoped to _every_ deity that the sore losers on his team wouldn’t bite his head off and bat it over the fence.

Jason ran after the kid from earlier, hoping that his coach wouldn’t notice him not going to the restroom but to another building that was further away from the field.

(He also hoped that the kid was still where Jason last saw him to begin with. He _swore_ , talking to the coach took _so_ much effort and time.)

God, please don’t let Jason down this time.

He jogged up the the side of the building, looking over his shoulder to make sure that the coach wasn’t looking.

Still on the bleachers, good.

He made a sharp left, heading towards the tool sheds and the fenced off forest at the side of the building. He froze, feet planting themselves firmly in place.

He could feel his breath catching in his throat as he saw a familiar mop of dark hair, an extremely familiar jacket holding a black sword. Somehow, he was fighting off the flying ladies that almost caused him the baseball game, despite his height.

Screw _his_ game though, what the fuck was this?

For a second, Jason thought he was hallucinating.

Okay, last night he stayed up studying for his math test (which turned out to be utter bullshit because the teacher didn’t even show up for it, so he’ll call that a minor victory). And he had to wake up early to cook breakfast and packed lunches for both him and his mom (because the cafeteria rarely ever made decent food and his mother didn’t want to go out for lunch).

Flying ladies and familiar boys surrounded by wilting grass and trees was not part of his career path as a professional procrastinator and essay-bullshitter. What the actual fuck was _this_?

“I _said_ leave me alone, I’m not going back down there!”

The voice snapped him out of his mini-breakdown; he remembered that he was supposed to be either helping or freaking out, and that he had a time limit for a bathroom break.

He chose the Jason choice: he started freaking out. His voice betrayed him, and so did his body as he backed up to the corner of the building and hid. He said nothing, he wasn’t there, no one noticed him.

One of the flying ladies huffed, “You might be the Lord’s son but you will _pay_ for what you did to Alecto in _some way_ , half-blood. You’ll _see_.”

“Oh, dear Alecto... Do you think she’ll be okay once she’s back, Tisiphone?” cooed another.

Tisiphone hissed, “Screw _that_ , Megaera. This scum of the earth just slayed her. She wouldn’t be back for _days_ , maybe even _weeks_.”

“Both of you _shut up_ ,” Nico’s voice rang out. They were silent, save for the flapping of leather wings and Nico’s heavy breathing.

“My father sent you here to retrieve me, not to avenge your stupid sister. I’m _not_ going back down there. If my father wants something done, he can go ask _someone else_.  If you come after me again, I will _not_ hesitate in turning you to dust. You’re sister is a clear example of that.”

The flying ladies hissed, and Jason _swore_ his heart skipped a beat or two. There was power in Nico’s words and it was… unusual. It wasn’t bad but…

“It’s not like Lord Hades won’t be sending us back no matter what you say,” Megaera complained.

“My father knows that when I _make_ threats, I make no light of it.” Nico spat back. One of the flying ladies huffed.

“C’mon, Megaera,” Tisiphone’s voice growled. The flapping became distant, signalling their exit from the scene. Jason heard a sigh come from Nico.

He slowly slid down the wall and leaned over the corner.

Nico sheathed his sword; eyes closed, head down. His long hair covered most of his face from this angle. He took another deep breath, one hand holding him up from the wall he was leaning on, hiding in the shade of a tree.

Jason gawked as Nico fell forward _into_ the wall, the shade stretching onto the wall closer to Jason. Nico reappeared on the other side of the fence in the same position. It all happened too fast, like… like—

Nico looked up, ran his free hand in his hair and pulling. Jason hastily backed up farther, his hand over his mouth to regulate the quickening of both his heartbeat and breath. Why was he so afraid that Nico would see him? Who _were_ those ladies? Did Nico just _do_ that? Most of all, did those bat ladies say ‘Lord Hades’ and did Nico really say ‘my father’ as if it was normal?

What the fuck had he just eavesdropped on?

“Who’s there?” Nico’s voice echoed down the empty scene.

He’d heard Jason’s awkward shuffling from earlier. _Shit_.

Jason sucked in what air he could, in the tension he felt gathering around his shoulders. There was no use in hiding, now that Nico had heard him.

Jason slowly got on all fours and pushed himself up, hoping not to get a sword drawn and pointed at his face. He walked forward, hesitant, eyes full of caution as he stared at an equally shocked Nico.

He breathed in, almost like he forgot that he was supposed to be breathing. “Jas—”

“Grace! I thought I gave you one _minute,_ not a whole day to yourself!”

Both teens jumped as the new voice came closer. Jason’s head whipped towards the field, cursing to himself. The teams were gone now and Jason was pretty sure he was gonna be late to Home Ec if he took a shower now. Ms Hart was gonna chew him out if he was late.

The coach trotted up to them, clipboard under his arm, a  disapproving frown on his face.

Jason panicked. Nico was still with him. Did the coach know that Nico didn’t go to school here? Shit, shit, _improvise_. “C-coach! Uh, I got sidetracked, my friend here, um, called me over from the game and he, uh, told me to meet him here!”

For a moment he thought the coach wasn’t _that_ stupid, that he would see that Jason was obviously lying.

The coach tutted, “Cutting classes now, Grace?” (Why was he saying the right name _now_?) “I could have you called into the office for that.”

Jason frowned. Okay, the coach took the bait, but he _definitely_ did not want to get called to the office. He glanced at Nico, who was playing it cool, not looking at the coach.

 _Improvisation is the key_ , one of the guys at the theatre club had once told him in an effort to flirt while he was doing their makeup. He promptly dismissed the memory, as he did the flirting.

Jason lifted his hand and checked his watch. “Well, technically, PE was over when I got off the field,” Jason half-lied. He didn’t really know and it wasn’t his call. The teacher determined whether or not the period was over.

But the coach took the bait, again, frowning. “Well, okay then, hurry along into the showers. You look like a fucking _mess_.”

He would have been offended of that last insult, but his heart almost gave out in overwhelming relief. Luckily it didn’t. Nico confidently walked away from the scene with him, leaving the coach where he’d found them.

Jason was semi-conscious of the incomprehensible look the coach was giving him out of the corner of his eye. He gulped, diverting his attention to Nico, who cleared his throat.

“How much did you see?” Nico’s voice was low, like he’d had practiced speaking this quietly. His mouth barely moved along with the words he spoke. He didn’t want anyone to know what they were talking about. He had this look on his face that made Jason’s stomach churn.

(Or maybe that was because it was a period ‘til lunch time and all he had for breakfast was leftovers from last night.)

Jason pondered about what he should answer. He hasn’t seen Nico in weeks and this wasn’t the most ideal reunion. Far from it.

How the fuck was one supposed to react if _they_ saw their long-distance crush being chased by flying leather bat ladies? That’s like, something out of a kid’s book.

It was absolutely preposterous, crazy, and ridiculous. He refused to acknowledge it. He repressed the event from his thoughts and pretended to forget— no, he pretended that the event had never even happened, and that Nico was just visiting him in school.

He was good at pretending.

Jason breathed in, looking down the path to avoid Nico’s gaze. _Pretend_. “See what? I just got there and was surprised to see you.”

It was an obvious lie and he knew that Nico was smart enough to notice it. Jason couldn’t say the same by the fact that he was pretending not to notice anything.

But neither of them said a word about it.

____

He didn’t know where Nico was hanging out after the incident. Didn’t even know if Nico stayed at all. The younger teen didn’t go to school here and he wasn’t really the most inconspicuous type of person.

 

Apparently, Nico _was_ an inconspicuous person, seeing as he just stood there by the lockers, five minutes after the bell rung for lunch hour, waiting for Jason to walk out of Home Ec. Jason shouldered past one of his friends, telling him that he’ll be at the cafeteria in a few and that he just had to go get something from his locker.

When said friend was gone, he walked up to Nico.

Nico looked up at him through his eyelashes, looking like he wasn’t expecting Jason to walk up to him. Maybe he was a good pretender too.

Jason thought, maybe it was because that he _knew_ Nico that he stood out from the crowd. Maybe that was it. Maybe it wasn’t the dark mop of hair that hung flat and messy on his head and framed his face. Maybe it wasn’t the freckles splayed upon his high cheekbones.

An overwhelming rush of affection ran over him. He missed Nico so much. The younger teen didn’t think to drop by any earlier and their reunion wasn’t one that was… expected, to say the least. Jason resisted the urge to reach out and squeeze him into a hug.

No touching.

“Long time no see,” Jason greeted, and he realized maybe he should have said that earlier, if he had his wits with him.

“You saw me a half hour ago, hasn’t been _that_ long,” Nico deadpanned, and Jason _knew_ that they were okay again.

“Well, you’d never know, time stretches on in class,” Jason joked, walking the few paces to his locker.

Nico gave him a dry look in return, making Jason laugh. “Okay, yeah, but even _before_ that. It’s been weeks, okay? Is missing you illegal in this state or something?”

Nico huffed out a laugh, “No, of course not. Don’t be ridiculous. It’s only illegal in DC, New York, Maine,  Nevada, and a few cities in Texas.”

Jason rolled his eyes, shutting his locker and strolling to the direction of the cafeteria. Nico followed.

His eyes flickered to Nico’s jacket, looking more worn than the last time he saw the younger teen. He saw something dusting Nico’s shoulder, shimmering yellow dust. Was it sand?

“Hey, uh, you got something—” Jason said, gesturing to wipe something off his own shoulder.

Nico glanced at his own shoulder and gave Jason an indescribable look before patting off with his hand, same fingerless gloves from before. Jason looked again, his bleached jeans were new. He vaguely wondered if Nico was wearing a new shirt under his jacket today.

He looked away, clearing his thoughts. Bad thoughts, don’t get too sentimental. Shit just went down, you should _not_  be thinking about stuff like that.

“So... Why are you still here? What if you get caught by a teacher or something?” Jason asked almost too conversationally, like this was a normal thing. _Anything_ to distract himself from his own treacherous thoughts.

Nico slouched, shoulders raising high in a shrug. His hands lifted with it.“Shout it out to the whole world, why don’t you,” Nico muttered sarcastically. “I don’t think your coach heard it from _all the way_ across town.”

Jason shook his head, a fond smile on his face. _This boy_.

It slipped off as soon as Nico turned to look at him. If the latter had noticed, he made no move to mention it.

“Well since you’re still _here_ and all, I thought it wasn’t a big deal to you that you were lying to the staff.” Jason pushed his glasses up his nose, almost instinctively, “ I mean, it _is_ a pretty big campus. They wouldn’t know one student from the other.”

“I’m still here because you didn’t tell me,” Nico said, flat out, no doubt in his tone or face. Jason blinked.

“Tell you to what, leave? I’m not the boss of you.”

“I know. But that’s not it,” Nico closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He gave Jason a solemn look.

“How much did you _really_ see earlier, Jason? It’s important that I _know_. Before I leave.”

Jason kept quiet. He _refused_ to acknowledge the scene from earlier. He absolutely did not want to remember any part or conversation from it.

Nico sighed, and Jason almost did a fist-pump because he knew that it meant that Nico was resigning to the fact that he wasn’t gonna spill _anything_. But he didn’t fistpump, there was no small victory; because he knew and trusted his own analysis of Nico, that the latter was _not_ going to give up.

They loomed by the cafeteria doors, that were empty. It would have reminded Jason of his grocery trip if he didn’t hear the bustle of overlapping voices muffled on the other side.

As soon as he got close enough to the door to cast a shadow, Nico slipped away from under him.

Quite literally, in fact.

Jason drew back, yelping, heart pounding as he saw— a blink, too fast, too dark— Nico drop down into the floor. Did Nico just—?

The cafeteria doors opened before he could recover, and the catcher from the game earlier came out, spotting Jason. “Oh, hey Grace. What are you doing there?”

Jason laughed nervously, trying to calm himself down. “I, uh. Y’know, just hanging around?” It came out as a question, his voice cracking at the end. He cleared this throat.

The catcher— Evans, Jason remembered his name, finally. Evans shook his head at Jason’s peculiar behavior. “Well, we had a good game today,” he said instead, filling the awkward silence that hung between them.

Jason nodded. “See ya tomorrow then.”

And then Evans walked away.

Jason ate his lunch with his football buddies in silence, mind racing a thousand miles, his head bobbing and lips pulling up to a convincing smile as his friends laughed and gestured around the table.

 _Thrice_. Three times.

Nico has called him weird _thrice_ and now, he can’t help but think about the irony in that.

 _You’re a weird guy, Jason_.

Jason could say the same thing about Nico.

The problem was, he didn’t think he minded as much as he should have. Nico was _lying to him_. He wasn’t clear to the details, wasn’t sure about what, wasn’t sure about why. He should be wary, as he was with Thalia. He didn’t even deserve to feel betrayed. Nico and he were just… friends. He’d _asked_ for that, remember?

Just friendship.

But there was nothing but raw fondness, nothing holding him back from feeling all of these feelings. There was no rejection in Nico’s motions, no pushing away of any sort. He wanted the friendship too.

He was starting to think that resigning to this crush wasn’t the best choice he’d made.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sorry if the summary and chapter title sucked, my head is making me want to curl up and die right now. also sorry that this is a bit late. i got caught up bc my parents dragged me out of town and i couldn't finish editing last night or this morning. (if there are any typos, feel free to point them out so i can get rid of them tomorrow hhhh. comments are still very much appreciated)
> 
> also, kudos to cha for all the baseball coverage on this chapter, haha. and p much being a solid sport and great person to write with.
> 
> update is in the next three or four days. i'm behind schedule again but i'll push through it. scout's honor.  
> -sj


	6. New Perspectives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason takes a walk to the park.
> 
>  
> 
> Beryl Grace knows more than she leads on.

____

“Jason?” he heard her voice call out from upstairs. “Where are you going? It’s eight o’clock!”

Jason glanced at the couch, where his mother’s boyfriend was sitting, checking out his phone. With a sigh, he trudged back to the stairs, “I’ll just go take a walk. I’ll be back before you know it, I swear.”

There was a moment when Beryl paused. Jason tapped his socked foot impatiently on the smooth tiled floors. “Well, alright then. Bring the keys with you; we won’t be back ‘til eleven. Don’t wait up and get in before nine, okay?”

Jason grabbed his keys, heading for the door. He slipped on his shoes, and stepped out into the night.

To give context, Beryl and her new boyfriend, Michael, were going out tonight. She’s been yapping about it all week (Jason can now see where Thalia and he got that from), leaving Jason in the house, alone with his thoughts.

He, on the other hand, was restless.

For a whole of three days, he convinced himself that it was just anxiety brought up by school. Projects and assignments from all subjects interlocking due dates. It was bound to make someone stressed.

But he later found that it wasn’t just because of school (however stressful school was). Oh, _no_. After Nico’s visit, he’s been on edge. Seeing weird stuff wasn’t a norm for him. The other day, he _swore_ he saw this one dude with one eye.

Staring was a bad habit and he couldn’t shake himself out of it. He’s had to keep his head down in halls and sidewalks, having to pointedly avoid looking out the windows during classes.

It set off several trains of thought that kind of disturbed him. Was this a new development or has this been a constant in his life? Something he’s never noticed before? Was he the only one who was like this?

It didn’t help that he couldn’t really keep from one train of thought to the other. His mind was scattered when he had to focus on shit he needed to focus on (e.g. those three essays, that one research project no one in his group was gonna help him with, the two quizzes he had to study for that was coming up next Monday).

Why he decided that walking at eight in the evening on a chilly-ish night was a good idea, was beyond even his own comprehension. The cold air still calmed him down though, regardless of any explanation that he couldn't give himself.

He took a deep breath, closing his eyes with the movement of his chest. He opened them, pointedly ignoring the ghastly faces he saw in his peripheral vision, setting a destination for himself.

The fountain park a few blocks down.

The streets were still bustling, cars jammed in traffic as workers got off work. The streetlamps were swarmed with insects attracted to light. Jason ran a hand through his hair.

He’d needed this. The constant buzz of movement and noise around him was calming in its own way. It drowned out his thoughts, and made him focus on nothing and everything simultaneously.

 

The park was unsurprisingly empty. No one went for night walks to the park. The benches were somehow always full of slumbering drunkards or homeless people that the police never shooed away until daybreak. The fountain was a constantly running its recycled water, despite the drought problems in the whole state.

Jason walked down the path, breathing in and out as the leaves rustled with the wind. The sound of running water relaxed him too.

With a content sigh, he sat down an unoccupied bench, closing his eyes.

“...why do you keep calling me?” a voice asked, low in the ambiance of the park and running water. Jason kept his eyes closed, leaning his head back. He could barely hear the voice, make out the words.

“ _You know very well why I’m going to keep calling you, kiddo. Mellie says hi by the way,_ ” another voice replied, muffled by the sound of running water. It sounded static-y, like through a phone.

“Yeah, that doesn’t answer my question, coach. Just—,” a sigh, and then, “I’m alright, okay? I already explained what happened. _Multiple_ times, in fact.” The voice that had replied was guarded, nearly silent against the ambiance.

“ _If that bone-head sends anymore of his goonies at you, I’m gonna give him a personal talking to._ ”

“Yes, because threatening my father will work. You’re a _satyr_ ; he’s not scared of you. Also, _how_ do you expect to get in and out of the Underworld exactly?”

Jason froze for a second. Had he fallen asleep on the park bench? Was he dreaming? What kind of conversation was this?

“ _I'll think of something, don't worry your pretty little head over it._ _God or no, he’s still gonna get what’s coming for him, kid_. _If he attacks you, he may as well have attacked me._ ”

“Hedge, just, _no_. Making empty threats for me isn’t gonna make me feel special, as much as I appreciate the sentiment.”

There was a silence before the first voice spoke again. “He just wants me to help since Thanatos can’t find Zeus' big shot kid. But he told me himself that he wanted me to be _happy_ , back in Portugal, so I used _that_ excuse. So far, it’s been working. I haven’t seen the Furies come after me since.”

“ _And if he insists for you to be brought to him? Isn’t it against your moral code to hurt mutts? What if he sends a hellhound, what then, huh?_ ”

“Then I’ll run away, like I’ve _always_ done. And you saw me at Portugal; it’s not against my moral code unless the hounds hurt me first.”

There was another silence.

“ _...you can’t always run away, kid_.”

“Tactical retreat isn't running away, coach. Just like you when Grace walked up to my area a few days ago. You could have done worse than just dismiss him like that.”

“ _That’s not what I’m talking about, kid. You— stop bringing him into this. You know_ full well _what I’m going to say about that._ ”

“No. Enlighten me, _Gleeson_. Tell me what you think about _running away_.”

“ _Nico..._ ”

Jason’s breath hitched at the sound of the name. He scrambled to stand.

He didn’t know what he was going to do, or why the name sent a sudden panic running through him. How didn't he recognize Nico's voice immediately? Was he even supposed to be hearing _any_ of this? Was that Jason’s PE teacher that Nico was talking to? Why were they talking about him all of a sudden?

He felt a migraine splitting his head, spreading from the nape of his neck to just behind the bridge of his nose.

In his struggle to stand, something fell and _clacked_ on the floor. Jason whipped his head to the side. His keys fell out of his pocket. He felt the rise of panic set within him.

 _Shit_.

“Who’s there?”

Jason didn’t stop at the sound of Nico's voice, nor did he stop for the coach's questions as Nico looked for him. He just picked up his keys and sprinted off into the night.

He ran, and ran, and ran until he couldn’t anymore. He leaned on a streetlight for support, breaths coming in heavy. He could feel his heartbeat all over his body, pounding in his ears, pulsing with every dull ache that came from the back of his head.

Had Nico seen him?

Jason looked back to the direction he came from, keys digging into his palm to the point that it was painful enough to ignore his migraine.

The ever-growing presence of the shadows were making him anxious under the faulty light from the streetlamp. But after a few minutes of waiting, no one stepped out.

 

Jason walked home more stressed than he was when he walked out.

____

“Have you ever gotten into something weird?” asked Jason the next morning. It wasn’t a work day but Beryl was up early.

She put down her phone (which had Candy Crush on the screen. Jason frowned at her game choice), taking a sip of her coffee. “Why? Are you doing drugs?”

“ _What_?”

“Because if you _are_ doing drugs, I advise that you should stop while you still can. That road is hard to follow, honey,” she continued almost nonchalantly. Jason gave her a look of total disbelief.

Was she speaking from _experience_? He internally groaned. God forbid she was.

“Mom, I’m _not_ doing drugs! Jesus, why would you even _think_ that?” Jason half-shouted at her.

“Well, glad we got that talk out of the way now, didn’t we?” she asked wryly. Jason huffed into his glass of OJ.

“I’m saying like, occult shit, Mom. Like, I dunno, _weird_ stuff,” Jason explained.

She gave him a look, one that Jason couldn’t pin down.

“Why are you asking this?”

“Because,” Jason retorted.

Silence hung between them. Jason couldn’t believe she was going to use his tactic: not talking until the subject was changed. Fucking _typical_.

Well, if she was gonna play hard to get, he was gonna push harder.

“Alright then,” Jason leaned forward, pushing aside his empty plate. He settled his hands on the table, looking her directly in the eye. She looked back, a practiced look of boredom on her face. Perks of acting classes, Jason thought.

“Explain to me why you haven’t told me of my sister yet,” he said defiantly. She leaned back, a disgusted look on her face. She kicked at his shin from under the table.

“Jason!” she shouted, her face flushed, “Michael brought me to _dinner_ last night, not knock me up!”

Jason winced at the spike of pain that ran up his shin, “I didn’t mean _that_ , Mom! Jesus Christ, what is your problem with my shin?!”

“Well, what _else_ was I supposed to think then?! Also, don’t be such a big baby; your shin is perfectly fine.”

Jason frowned, “No, it’s not. Also, I don’t know, maybe you were supposed to think ‘oh, why had I never told Jason about his older sister?’. Mom, I don’t  know if you’re just _acting_ like you don’t know or if you’ve forgotten entirely about her!”

“ _Who_ are you talking about, Jay? You’re an only _child!_ ”

Jason froze in his seat. He searched her face, and saw only panic and concern and worry. His stomach churned. No.

No, no. _No_ , this wasn’t happening. This wasn’t right.

He stood up, legs buckling into place. He took hold of the edge of the table.

“You’re lying,” came his shaky reply, indignantly not looking at her face.

“Jason… I’m _not_. I swear, what is this about?”

 _Shit_ , she wasn’t lying, wasn’t she?

What did it mean? Who was lying to him? Who wasn’t? Thalia wasn’t the kind of person who’d have stalked him for all of those years. She had her own life to live. She knew they lived in Oakland before. She _knew_ a lot of stuff about Jason that Jason didn’t even notice himself.

Beryl had no reason to lie to him about this. Or did she? Why would she?

Does this have something to do with Thalia’s father?

Jason pursed his lips. He didn’t like being in between. Didn’t like not knowing who to trust. Didn’t like being lied to. He took a deep breath.

“Jason, honey, I think you need to explain what’s going on,” she stated slowly, like one wrong word or intonation would send Jason to a fit of rage. It might have, if Jason wasn’t panicking.

Jason had to do something. _Improvise_.

He laughed his most convincing laugh, “Nah, mom. It was just a joke. I can’t believe that actually got serious.”

A look of disbelief passed through Beryl’s face before she grinned, “I’m glad that your acting skills are getting better, kiddo.”

The praise was fake, and he knew it. Not letting his thoughts show through his features, Jason huffed, “ _Better_? That was _phenomenal_ acting!”

She sipped at her mug of coffee, going back to her game. She gave a non-committal grunt and a “Yes, Oscar-worthy.”

“Hey!”

___

Jason’s walks weren’t complete without going through the park even once. His last incident in the park wasn’t going to deter him. He was going to the place that made him relax and he was going to forget ever having a bad experience.

He pulled out a stick of gum from his stash and started chewing, pouring his anxiety through his teeth.

The wind blew softly into the brightly-lit park. He took a deep breath and fell back onto a random bench.

After this morning’s incident, the house was extremely silent and the tension was _killing_ him. So what if his mother never really knew of Thalia’s existence? Thalia had told him she’d tell him everything, after all. He never knew the whole story.

He groaned. Why was he trying so hard to convince himself anyway? It was all pointless.

“ _What the fuck are you doing_ there?” A sharp female voice rang out the silent park.

Jason opened his eyes and looked around. No one was there.

“I’m assuming Hedge told you,” another voice answered, but it was too far away, too low for Jason to hear. Jason felt something set into his stomach, like a stone or something heavier. This situation looked (or sounded) a bit too familiar.

“ _Of course Hedge fucking told me, you douche bag! How much did my brother see?_ ”

“I couldn’t get the truth out of him. He’s as stubborn as you are. I’m assuming you both get it from your mother,” mumbled the other voice, sounding exasperated.

Jason set his jaw determinedly. He wasn’t going to run away this time. Standing up from the bench, he followed the sound of the two voices. They were clearly talking about him, he determined, despite the inkling of doubt in his head. The voice in his head that kept saying that he was just being paranoid and crazy.

He shoved his doubts down and marched on.

“ _She’s as much of a mother to me as Hera ever was. You know that_.”

“Yes, I do.”

Jason turned the corner, startled to find Nico sitting by the sidewalk, talking to… the sprinklers?

He looked closer; he could see a faint image by the light. Familiar dark hair. He blinked again.

Wait, was that…?

“Thalia?”

Jason took a step back as Nico jumped to his feet, sword drawn. There was a moment before wide-eyed realization settled into Nico’s entire being.

Jason glanced back at the sprinklers.

There was no image. It had disappeared when Nico had stood to draw his sword.

Panic settled into Nico's features as the sword clattered loudly onto the concrete between them. “Jason, I— I didn't mean to— I almost...”

Jason set his face, stony and indifferent, “Save your breath for later. You’re coming back home with me and you’re going to tell me _everything_.”

“I— _what?_ ” came Nico’s response. Jason glared at him.

“I’m neither blind _nor_ stupid, Nico. There’s something. You, my sister, and _God knows_ who else; you’re all hiding _something_ from me. And I intend to find out sometime today because for the last few days, it’s been driving me up the fucking wall!”

Nico stood silent, expression a mixture of shock and confusion. Every second made Jason grow a little bit more frustrated.

With a growl, he fished his phone out of his pocket and grabbed dialed his sister’s number. Without hesitation, he grabbed at Nico’s shoulder.

There was no aggression or firmness to his hold. It was just there to tell Nico that he wasn’t gonna get away from this without giving Jason some kind of information. The phone rang once, twice.

It picked up by the third ring, “... _Jay?_ ” There was some static on the other end, like there was interference.

“Thalia, I think Nico has something to tell you.”

Nico’s eyes grew wide, he shook his head but Jason shoved the phone to his ear either way.

“G-Grace, I’m— your brother, he’s— the phone!” Nico stammered, trying shrink away from the phone, like it was burning him. Jason grimaced but kept it up to the shorter teen’s ear.

There was a moment of silence before Nico glared at him.

“She wants to speak with _you_ ,” he hissed, bending down to grab his sword from the floor.

With a raise of his brow, skeptical, Jason took the phone to his ear. “Yes?”

“ _Hang up and grab tight. I just gave Nico full permission to tell you_ everything _. Now hang up before anything bad happens._ ”

Jason’s face broke free from its stony expression, turning into one of pure confusion. “Grab tight? What do you mean _anything bad_? Tha—?”

Immediately, Nico snatched the phone from him, scowl still on his face. He grabbed Jason’s hand and abruptly pulled.

Instinctively, Jason grabbed for Nico’s free arm for balance.

His breath hitched as cold darkness enveloped them. His grip on Nico’s arm tightened, as did his grip on the latter’s hand. He wasn’t ready for the cold that overtook him, almost searing his skin even though it was cold. He may have lost his gum in the fall.

Suddenly, they were in an extremely familiar room. The messy desk and equally messy bed with posters and pictures hung at the wall. Nico let go of his hand and plopped down the bed.

They were in Jason’s room, a few blocks from their previous destination.

Jason blinked away the nausea that suddenly came over him, his heart pounding erratically. So many thoughts were going through his head. He didn’t know it was possible to even… teleport _with_ Nico.

“Surprised I can do that?” Nico asked nonchalantly as he took off his boots.

Jason thought about his question and shook his head. “I suppose not. I’ve seen you do it twice. I’m just… trying to compose myself a little.”

Nico regarded him for a moment. With a shaky breath, Jason took a seat by his desk.

“Sorry for grabbing you back there, man. I really am just stressed about this, y'know?" Jason said, hand running through his hair.

“It's fine, I get it. Though, I have to say, you’re taking this quite well. Most mortals would be freaking out even more after a jump,” Nico muttered.

Jason gritted his teeth, the slightest bit of annoyance coming back to him through the disbelief and shame coursing through him.

Nico was being _cryptic_.

Jason looked Nico in the eye, refusing to break eye-contact. He was vaguely aware of the shudder that ran through Nico’s form and his eyes narrowed. “Start at the beginning, tell me everything,” he demanded, voice hard with a tone that said ‘don’t lie to me’.

Nico gave him a look that said that he wouldn’t even dare.

Jason suppressed the feeling deep in his stomach. Now was not the time.

“I’m starting at Thalia’s beginning of the story then,” Nico finally said, earning a nod from Jason.

The silence lasted for a minute, maybe a few more. Jason grew impatient with every tick he heard from his clock.

“Stop stalling,” he scolded Nico.

“I’m tempted to, but I’m really not stalling,” Nico replied.

“Oh really,” muttered Jason. “Why am I not convinced?”

Nico gave him a heated glare, one that shut him up, darkened the room, and lowered the temperature simultaneously. Jason shuddered.

“I'm trying to word this right so you won’t think I’m crazy. Now will you just let me think?” Nico spat. Jason resisted the urge nod and wait.

Instead, he said: “I’ve seen you phase into shadows, threaten two flying bat ladies, say that your father is Hades, and talk to someone through the fountain _and_ the sprinkler system at the park,” Jason recited, counting on still clammy and shaky fingers. “ I'm pretty sure that I can take what you’re going to tell me.”

Nico raised a brow at this, “Yeah?” With that one syllable, the room temperature went back to normal. As did the natural lighting.

“Yeah.”

“Your sister’s father is Zeus; she knows how to fly and how to summon lightning. You and her have a seven-year age gap but she stopped aging temporarily when she died, and then Zeus turned her into a tree to save her life. Then, someone at the camp decided that the Golden Fleece should be hung up by her tree, and then she returned to being human due to its healing abilities. She became immortal for a whole year, before she quit.” Nico took a deep breath. Everything he said was said monotonously, rushed. It was almost comedic.

Jason blinked and processed what the other had told him. It took him a moment, but what came out was a: “Really? _Seven_?” His voice had raised an octave.

Nico rubbed at his scarred, bare arms, giving Jason a dry look. “ _That’s_ what you’re curious about? The seven-year age gap?”

“Well, I mean, I dunno. What do you _want_ me to be curious about?” Jason asked, defensive.

Nico rolled his eyes, his hands transferring from his arms to his fingers. He began twisting his rings, an agitated gesture. “Well, what about your sister dying? Your step-father being Zeus? Everything _else_ that was out of the ordinary?”

“Do you _want_ me to make you explain those things?” Jason asked, frustrated at Nico's sudden agitation. (And at himself for following all those little movements that Nico did.)

Nico hung his head, not wanting to look at Jason. He clearly didn’t want Jason to make him explain that.

“I’ll be asking _Thalia_ those questions, okay? She _did_ promise to tell me.”

Silence took over the room again. Jason regarded Nico for a second, bleached jeans and purple shirt. It had the letters _SPQR_ on them. His sword hung by his side. His jacket was missing.

Jason sighed, pulling off his glasses to rub at his face. “Alright, let’s just _not_ start from the beginning then,” he said, throwing his hands out to a shrug. His glasses almost flew with the careless gesture.

Nico looked up in wide-eyed wonder, clearly not expecting the change in decision. Jason averted his gaze, rubbing at the nape of his neck.

“Just, answer my questions. It’ll be like Twenty Questions, only, less intrusive and genuinely curious,” Jason smiled, slipping his glasses back on. Nico visibly relaxed, hands momentarily picking at his jeans. Jason didn’t notice the tension in them until that very moment.

With a sigh, he stood from his seat. “Up. Off the bed, c’mon. I can see how fidgety you’re getting there,” Jason said, stretching and popping the kinks in his back. Nico followed him, shoulders drawn together. Jason huffed.

“Seriously dude,” Jason started, earning Nico’s attention. “Can I just, hug you? Or just, you know, generally touch you?”

Nico hung his head, shoulders shaking in silent laugher. “Yes, Jason. You _can_ generally touch me.”

Jason put an arm around Nico’s shoulders, still tentative, a bit loose. Nico could shove him off easily. Playfully, he gripped both of Nico’s shoulders and maneuvered him to the door. Nico chuckled, moving along with Jason’s maneuvering.

Together, they went downstairs.

___

Most of the game turned into back and forth banter over Wrath of the Titans, which had made Nico laugh for a moment before he realized that, yes, Jason _was_ going to make him watch the Wrath of the Titans.

“So, the letters on your shirt, Percy has the same letters tattooed on his arm,” Jason said, munching over the microwaved popcorn.

“It’s for Roman demigods. Well, save Percy who’s _Greek_. They give the tattoos to members of Senate and the populace of New Rome.” Nico explained as he chewed, eyes not leaving the screen, “It’s a camp, like the one in Long Island. Camp Jupiter.”

“Where’s that, then? If Half-Blood is in Long Island.”

“It’s where my half-sister is staying. Somewhere by the Bay Area.”

Jason hummed in acknowledgement.

“So, _your_ dad is…?”

“Hades, I’m Greek. Hazel— my half-sister, her father is the Roman counterpart, Pluto. Two sides of the same coin.”

“And you were visiting him in LA? Or was that a lie?”

“The visit was a lie. I don’t go there unless I’m asked to. The location wasn’t a lie though. Los Angeles is where the main entrance to the Underworld is.”

Jason laughed at the irony of it all, “The _Underworld_ ’s entrance is in the City of the _Angels_ , then.”

Nico turned to look at him, smirking, “Only Christians make that generalization like it’s a bad thing or an ironic thing but, yeah.”

“That’s _absolutely_ fucking amazing.”

The first monster attacked Perseus on the screen. Nico groaned, “That looks _nothing_ like the real thing! Also, _he_ looks nothing like Perseus.”

“You’ve met a lot of dead heroes?” Jason asked, not paying the movie any mind.

“Yeah. Achilles, Perseus, Orpheus, Atalanta. You name it. Right now, Atalanta is out, she tried for rebirth a few years back,” Nico explained, almost dismissively, like it was passing gossip. To Jason, all of this seemed so surreal.

“What about Heracles then?”

“Oh, he’s not dead yet,” Nico perked up, throwing a kernel into his mouth. “Hazel and her other friends, they met him before they entered Greece a few months back. Right now, my father’s lieutenant, Thanatos, is still trying to hunt him down.”

Jason frowned, “That’s not right. Didn’t Philoctetes see to it that he was dead?”

Nico snickered, “ _Someone’s_ been doing their homework.”

Jason gave him a look.

Nico waved him off, eyes going back to the screen. “It’s a long story and it has to do a lot with why we were in Greece a few months ago. I’ll say, it won’t be easy hunting down the god of strength. Not after _Percy_ made him go for a swim.”

“What’s with Percy? Why’s he all over the place?” Jason asked, a bit taken aback by the tone that Nico had said Percy’s name with.

“Only the hero of Olympus twice over. Son of Poseidon, really powerful. The quests and the fame haven’t gone to his head yet, thankfully, but I dunno. It feels like he’s the new generation of Heracles what with all of his reception,” Nico ranted, eyes still glued to the screen. Jason made a face.

“There’s something else about him, is there?” he asked. Abruptly, Nico’s shoulder tensed, his eyes leaving the screen for a moment to glance at Jason, like he’d said something bad or insulted some huge deity.

Jason put his hands up. “I-I didn’t mean to offend! I just, the way you said his name— I assumed. I’m sorry,” he stuttered.

Nico stayed quiet after a few moments. A weighing dread settled in Jason’s stomach.

“You don’t have to tell me all of it. _Any_ of it, in fact,” Jason reassured. “I was—that was a dumb thing to say.”

Nico gave him an unconvincing half-smile, “Glad you realized. Wouldn’t that be against the rules though? I _have_ to answer your questions.”

Jason rolled his eyes, smiling back at Nico. “Alright, well, you have to answer. But not explain thoroughly.”

“Doesn’t that beat the point of having to play ‘Twenty Questions: Less Intrusive Edition’?” Nico mocked, looking back at the screen.

Jason leaned back against the couch.“Not really. I’m still getting answers. I just have to do a lot more thinking,” Jason replied. “Plus, it’s not fun unless both sides are comfortable with sharing.”

Nico gave him an incredulous look. “Both sides? I’m the only one answering questions here,” there was laughter in his tone when he said this.

Jason bumped his knee with his socked-foot. “Yeah, well, _ask_ questions then, genius.”

“Jason?” another voice piped up from behind them

Jason jumped, and so did Nico. He turned in his seat to look behind the couch. He laughed and relaxed in his seat when he saw who it was.

“Hey, Mom.”

Beryl was rubbing at her eyes, still slightly drowsy from her nap.“Who’s this? I didn’t hear you coming home.”

“Mrs. Grace! Um, I— we,” Nico stammered and stood, a little bit too nervous. Jason chuckled, putting a hand on the small of the Nico’s back in a gesture of reassurance.

“Stop being so _nervous_ , dude! It’s just my mom.” He tried not to notice the fact that some of the tension seeped out at his touch.  “Mom, this is Nico. Nico, that’s my mom, Beryl.”

Nico stepped around the couch, hand held out for a handshake. The blush on his face was evident. Beryl smiled, shaking his hand, “Please, Nico. Beryl’s just fine.”

“I-if you say so, Mrs. Gr— uh, _Beryl_ ,” Nico replied, stiff and _still_ very nervous.

“It’s a surprise you didn’t hear us come in, Mom. We were pretty loud,” Jason commented as Nico moved back around the couch.

“Hmm, I must have been sound asleep,” Beryl said airily. Jason snorted as he watched her walk into the kitchen. Her act was getting rustier these days.

“Don’t you have a date tonight?” Jason asked, standing to leave Nico alone with the movie playing.

Beryl gave him a knowing look. “Why yes, Jason. It seems I’m not the only one though,” she murmured, glancing back at Nico.

Jason could feel his face heat up as soon as she did that. “ _Mom_! He’s just a _friend_!” he hissed.

“ _Mhmm_ , just like how David was just here for a project,” Beryl commented, condescending tone in place.

Jason felt himself go tense at the mention of the said ‘project’. She _knew_ about that?!  “Mom, David was—!”

He growled, frustrated. There was literally no point in this conversation. “Y’know what? _Whatever_!” He threw his hands up in defeat, grabbing two cups and a bottle of Sprite from the fridge. “Have fun on your date tonight.”

“You too,” Beryl teased.

___

Nico stood by the bus stop again, but there was no frown on his face this time. Well, it was more of a concerned pout to Jason than anything so... _Yeah_. “Are you sure you’re okay with...? I mean, I _could_ stay for the night, to explain some more. I can get to camp in like, two seconds flat.”

Jason shook his head. Tempting as it had been, he was half-convinced that he’ll just wake up to nothing. He wasn’t ready for the discovery of him being in so deep that he’ll become upset with Nico’s disappearance the next morning.

“Nah, it’s okay. As long as I know I’m not going totally crazy, and that my mom probably doesn’t even know of Thalia’s existence, I’m pretty chill with it.”

Then Nico’s pout turned into a genuine frown, worry marking his features. “I’m not sure about that. Mortal women don’t just _forget_ when they get knocked up by gods. Especially one as important as Zeus.”

Jason blinked, “Do you mean…?”

“Yeah, there might be someone messing with your mom’s memories.”

Something dropped in the pit of Jason’s stomach. _Divine intervention_ , a voice in his brain rasped.

“Who do you think it might be?” Jason asked despite himself. He knew that Nico wasn’t supposed to mention any names or put the blame on any one god. But the fact that someone was messing with his mom’s head was messing him up too.

Nico took a deep breath, worried look still prominent on his face but with a tinge of sympathy. “I honestly don’t know. I’m sorry.”

Jason shook his head. “You don’t have to be sorry, it’s okay. Whoever they are, so far it’s only just my mother’s memories about Thalia. For all we know, they might be protecting her,” Jason shrugged.

It was more of a theory. From what he’s heard from Nico, most mortals go crazy and end up not having a longer or happier life after getting knocked up by gods. Save for Percy’s mother who, like Jason, could see through the mist.

The others weren’t so lucky.

Nico nodded, “That’s an educated guess.”

“Thanks! I had a good teacher,” Jason said with a smile, bumping Nico’s shoulder with his. Nico rolled his eyes, worry slowly fading into a smile of his own. Jason heard an imaginary crowd cheer in his head.

Small victories.

The bus arrived, surprising a very distracted Jason. He hadn’t expected the bus to arrive so early. Nico was already boarding when Jason found himself surging forward, holding Nico by the hand.

Nico stopped, turning to look at Jason. Under the streetlights and the lights in the bus, he could have sworn he saw Nico’s face slowly tint to a pink shade. The look of shock was clear on his face, mirroring Jason’s emotions.  

Jason pushed up his glasses, clearing his throat. His hand stayed where it was.

“I, uh— um,” Jason stuttered. “Did you have fun tonight?”

The shock seeped out of Nico’s face, turning into a fond smirk. Nico snorted, “Yeah, Jay. I had fun.”

Jason felt his face heat up at the nickname. He’d never heard it come from Nico. Sure, a few times he got cut off saying Jason’s name but this was different.

“Y-you can visit any time, okay?” Jason said, finally dropping Nico’s hand. His palm felt warm, which should have been wrong. Nico was always cold. “ _Even_ in the middle of the night.”

Nico stared him in the eyes for a few seconds, but to Jason, it felt like an _eternity_. He wanted it to be an eternity. His face was against the light from the bus, but Jason could make out the glint of his nearly black eyes in the shitty streetlight.

They both jumped as the bus driver cleared his throat. Jason had thought it was impossible for his face to heat up even more, but it did anyway.

“S-sorry, mister,” he stuttered out.

“Just hurry it up,” the bus driver grumbled.

“O-okay!” Jason replied. Then he looked to Nico, who was still staring at him. “So, um. Until next time, I guess?”

“Yeah.”

A silence hung between them. Jason looked down at his feet, fidgeting with his wristwatch. He felt a pressure on his cheek, soft tufts of hair clipping him by the brow. Before he knew it, Nico had boarded the bus.

Jason stood there until the bus had drove off into the night, leaving him with the sound of crickets, and the sounds of wind rustling the leaves of the trees behind him. He took a deep breath and gave a deep sigh.

Nico had kissed him on the cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing Beryl Grace has been such a fun job. She's really fun to write, as a free character. With the lore of this going on, it's gonna get more fun. (cha made a really tragic bg story i'm so hyped how the fuck am i gonna insert that. cha, help).
> 
> also bruh, the movie scenes are totally just for the sake of bashing on greek/roman movies that hollywood keeps showing us, lmao. sorry not sorry.
> 
> update is in the next three or four days, depending on if i can gather enough motivation to write more than seven to eight hundred words per hour.
> 
> -sj


	7. Right. Friends.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason carries around period pads for his friends.
> 
>  
> 
> Volleyball and pegasus duty are perfectly fine reasons for exhaustion. The Graces' couch isn't really that comfortable.

“So your _friend,_ Nico... He hasn’t been over for weeks,” Beryl piped up from the couch. “Did your date go bad or…?”

It was a normal school night. Usually this was when Jason and Beryl squeezed into the couch to watch quality TV soaps for family bonding. Tonight was Game of Thrones night so, _of course_ Beryl was attached to the couch an hour earlier than the screening.

Jason groaned at the question as he poured the popcorn out into a bowl, “It wasn’t a _date_ , Ma.” _As much as I wanted it to be_ , he almost added as an afterthought. He held his tongue.

“ _Sure_ ,” Beryl replied, entirely unconvinced.

Jason gave her a small, exasperated sigh.

It was true. Nico hasn’t been over for weeks. So far, Jason’s had to cope with discovering the Mist by himself.

The apparitions on the streets were disturbing, still, but they didn’t bother him. Three days ago, he saw a bunch of centaurs down by the farmer’s market. He’s also been noticing that there were kids in SPQR shirts all over Berkeley.

How had he not noticed that before?

Jason hasn’t had a breakdown, thank goodness, but keeping it in wasn’t his style. He couldn’t just gush to his football friends about this. He definitely couldn’t just gush about it to his mother, who had no idea what a centaur even was, let alone _see_ one. Jason hated bottling it all up.

Discovering the Mist, so far, has been nothing short of exciting. None of the monsters knew he could see their true forms and he didn’t let on. It was fun, pretending to not know something.

(Plus, they spoke really sullenly, like all of life was miserable. It was a bit comical, Jason had to admit.)

He was also half-sure that Nico’s been avoiding him since the kiss on the cheek. Jason felt his face heat up a little. _That_ was something. He wasn’t even sure if that was a dream or a memory. He hoped it was the latter.

“I’m pretty sure he’s just taking it easy. He says his dad is pretty demanding but right now he’s taking a break so he doesn’t have to come up to LA every other week,” Jason explained nonchalantly as he brought the bowl over to the couch. He stepped over Beryl’s scattered high heeled shoes.

“Oh? Where’s he from?” Beryl asked as she took the bowl from him. The commercials were still playing and the show wasn’t going to come up in about thirty minutes.

“Manhattan,” Jason answered as he picked up his phone from the table.

Beryl gasped in delight, then proceeded to make a bunch of high-pitched noises, which sounded a bit like Thalia when Piper had arrived to their party. He shook his head, a fond smile on his face. So _that_ was where it had come from.

“ _He’s_ the reason why you were in New York, wasn’t he?” Beryl teased. “ _Ooh_ , you’re _such_ a romantic, Jay! I could just gobble you _up_. Of course, if I didn’t have this bountiful bowl of popcorn with me.”

“Thank god for the popcorn, then,” Jason replied dryly, earning a smack on the arm.

“You’re unbearably mean tonight, Jay.”

“ _Must_ be the hormones.”

* * *

 

‘ _jot down notes from book. or alex. l8r_ ’ was written on the margin of his notebook.

Currently, Jason was in his Home Ec class, staring out the window. Mrs. Hart was at the front, blabbing on about how to clean stoves or which sponge was appropriate for use; something along those lines. Jason already knew how to clean stoves, so he really didn’t need to listen.

General knowledge starting from age twelve. He already knew this information way before high school.  He literally could not have cared less.

He was watching the faint shimmer of light, the waving of the gravel as it was heated by the sun. He wondered if that was the Mist worked with normal people.

The sunlight warmed part of his face as it came in through the windows. Squinting through his glasses, he jolted as a shadow stretched from the gates.

A form solidified in the middle of the courtyard, crouching.

 _Nico_.

From here, he could see the shine coming off of Nico’s shoddy leather jacket; he can see the convulsing of Nico’s shoulders. Nico was _hurt_.

Mrs. Hart cleared her throat, “Mr. Grace? What is it?”

Jason blinked, having not realized that he had stood up. He hadn’t even heard the screech of his chair. Now, everyone was looking at him. “I, uh…”

 _Improvise, Jay_.

Fumbling with himself, he grabbed at his phone, he looked at it.

Clearly it was an act, but he was putting it up to Mrs. Hart alone. So far, none of his classmates have reacted. Some might not have even cared.

Grabbing his backpack, he took a tiny pack out. It was a period pad, reserved if there ever was a lady friend in trouble. His mother had always insisted that he brought one with him just in case a lady friend was in trouble.

 

(It had helped in the locker room, surprisingly, during his first year in high school. Alex, who shared a class with him for PE class until second year, was a secluded kid who stayed behind in the locker rooms a lot. What had surprised Jason was when Alex asked him if he had a pad with him.

Not questioning it, he gave Alex the whole pack of period pads. Later on, Alex had told him why he needed the pads and thanked Jason for not asking questions.

They’ve been friends ever since. Jason started keeping pads out of habit.)

 

Now, it was being used for _another_ purpose.

“A-a friend of mine needs help, Mrs. Hart,” he stuttered out, his panicked tone making it seem more genuine. He held the pad up for her to see. The class broke out in murmurs, quickly being shushed by the teacher.

From the corner of his eye, Alex looked on with a concerned glint in his eyes. Jason felt like he should apologize for not explaining but he was too panicked to care.

With a ghost of a smile, Mrs. Hart nodded towards the door. Mumbling a quick ‘thanks’, Jason took off into the hallway. He can’t _believe_ that just worked. _Holy shit_.

He took a quick look behind him. No one was in the halls so far. He sprinted, slid down the rails of the stairway.

Soon, he reached the doors to the courtyard. Panting, he pushed the doors open, squinting through the blinding light.

“ _Nico!_ ” he shouted out into the courtyard.

A different voice answered his call. “ _Grace!_ The hell do you think you’re doing out here?! Get back to class!” shouted the coach. He stood beside Nico’s slouched form that was leaned against the wall.

“No, it’s okay, coach,” another voice spoke. Jason realized that it was Nico’s. His voice sounded hoarse and tired. “I’ve told him about it.”

Jason approached, despite the coach’s dismissals and insistence.

“Nico, what _happened_?” Jason asked, crouching down at the side. Nico was between him and the coach.

Blood was dribbling down his split lip, there was a bruise forming under one of his eyes. There was a huge rip on his black shirt, steadily healing but still bleeding scratches on his chest. His skin took to a bluish tone, a sign of major blood loss. The other scratches (not deep enough to bleed but deep enough to bruise a little at the sides) stood out stark on his skin.

Jason tried not to feel queasy at the sight.

With a groan, Nico pushed himself up, only to be pushed down gently by the coach.

Taking a second glance at the coach, Jason noticed the fur coming from where his jogging pants were drooping and, a horn coming out from where his hat had slipped off.

“Take it easy, cupcake. Your wounds are barely healing as it is,” the coach said, voice gruff with barely concealed worry. Jason’s attention went back to Nico. He held the younger teen’s arm, careful not to touch any of his wounds.

He was cold, which was normal for someone like Nico. But this was the wrong kind of cold and it made Jason feel all kinds of worried.

“You’re both making too much of a big deal out of this,” Nico complained. “I don’t need your coddling, it’s just a bunch of scratches.”

 _Just a bunch of scratches? Yeah fucking right,_ Jason thought to himself. With a huff, he said, “Well, if you tell us what happened already then _maybe_ we might consider not coddling you.”

For a moment, Nico just stared at him, his eyes were unfocused and his look said that he didn’t believe what Jason had just told him. Or, well, the last part of it. Jason noticed the look and pushed down all of his worry. Or, well, _tried_ to.

Did Nico have a concussion? Shouldn’t they get a doctor for this? Was the coach’s satyr first-aid enough to get Nico secured with all of these wounds?

Clearing his throat, Nico moved again, bringing Jason out of his trance. “Coach, if you could just… get the draught in my bag, please?”

Silently, the coach moved, pushing Nico up enough to go through the contents of his bag. Jason was a bit unsettled by the coach’s silence but tried not to pay it any mind.

“I was up in Colorado on a clean-up mission for the Amazons in the area. I owed Hylla a favor,” Nico began. The coach zipped the bag up and gave him a thermos.

Jason helped him open it, as Nico fumbled with the lid. With a mumble of thanks, Nico drank. Like magic, the color slowly returned to Nico’s skin.

Jason vaguely wondered what the content of the thermos was but decided against voicing out his curiosity. Now wasn’t the time.

With a relieved sigh, Nico put the thermos down. This time, his voice came out clearer, “A pack of wolves attacked me, probably left behind from Lycaon’s pack.  I killed them all, of course. Wouldn’t want them to come after me again.”

Jason nodded, despite not knowing what Nico did to Lycaon’s pack to begin with.

“I got out of it, but I couldn’t make it to New Rome so I landed here. Then the coach found me and here you are, Jason,” Nico explained, almost dismissively. The scratches on his chest were closed now, blood drying up.

The coach smacked Nico’s arm, a disapproving glare set on the younger teen. Nico frowned, though it looked more like a pout. Jason thought all of this was a bit inappropriate, because Nico definitely had scars by his arms too but the both of them didn’t seem to care about any of it.

“What did I tell you about jumping while injured, you stubborn little—!”

Nico snorted, cutting him off mid-rant, “I’ve been getting that speech from Solace for _weeks_ , Hedge. I don’t need another one on my record.”

“Well, if you’d have _followed_ the advice, I wouldn’t be adding to it, smartass,” Hedge retorted. “We can’t have you phasing out of existence again, okay?” His tone sounded sincere now, which made Nico tense for a half-second.

Nico hummed, and though it sounded noncommittal, there was something in there.

“You’re gonna be the death of me, kid,” Hedge whispered to himself, rubbing at the bridge of his nose, but Nico wasn’t paying attention to him anymore.

Nico made a confused face, his eyes on Jason’s hand. Jason looked at said hand, in spite of himself.

“Is that a napkin?” he asked.

Jason flushed, hastily pocketing it.“I used it as an excuse to get out here so…”

And that was when Hedge’s disapproving look went back in full-force. Jason almost did a double-take.

“Speaking of which, get back to class, kid. I can’t have Hart or any of the other teachers bitching in the faculty about their straight-A student running out of classes,” he scolded. Jason nodded, standing.

He caught the expectant look on Nico’s face as he stepped back. Nico raised a hand to wave goodbye.

Jason gave him a smile and waved back at him, walking away.

As an afterthought, he turned on his heel and said, “Drop by my house after you’ve healed, okay? Mom’s on her day off, so you don’t have to go through those horrible movies by yourself. I won’t be out in a few hours.”

Nico nodded, shoulders drooping in what Jason thought might have been relief. It could have meant anything, ranging from resignation to tiredness. Jason indulged himself in the fantasy that it may have been relief.

 

(While walking away, he heard Nico say, “Are you doting on _every_ teenager you encounter or is that just a non-mortal thing with you?”

To which Coach Hedge replied: “What can I say? My paternal instincts are on full-swing ever since Chuck ate his first fork.”)

* * *

 

“Who was in trouble during Home Ec?” asked Alex on the walk home. The concern was back on his face. Shaking his head, Jason laughed. Alex gave him a questioning look in response.

“Someone _was_ in trouble, but it wasn’t a leak,” Jason reassured. “A friend of mine was injured and I ran to help. I just used the pack as an excuse. Sorry if I worried you, dude.”

Alex snorted, rolling his eyes. He bumped Jason by the hip, “Some excuse _that_ was. Hart was practically _swooning_ in her seat.”

Jason made a face, “Dude, she’s _married_. That’s gross!” Alex laughed out loud.

“It’s called a joke, you _dingus_. Anyway, is your friend okay? What happened to him?”

Jason smirked, “He got attacked by a bunch of rabid dogs.”

“Yeah, right,” Alex mumbled.

“What?”

“If he got attacked by dogs, why didn’t you skip out on the whole day and go to the hospital with him, _hmm_? _Busted_.”

Jason rolled his eyes. The fact that Alex thought he wasn’t nice enough to escort Nico to the hospital made him a little defensive, because he _wanted to,_ okay? But Nico was healing fine when he left and Coach Hedge seemed to have handled it fine enough.

“You caught me,” Jason mumbled in response.

A comfortable silence settled between them as they trudged down the hill, towards the residential areas.

“Hey, wanna grab some donuts before going home?” asked Alex.

Jason was conflicted then. Was he going to go home to hang out with Nico or stay out with Alex and bring some donuts home with him?

Jason being Jason, he picked the Nico choice. “Actually, I sent my friend ahead of me. He’s probably waiting back at the house,” he replied, frowning. “Maybe some other time?”

Alex shrugged, his hoodie’s strings shaking with the movement. “Sure.”

They parted many moments later, with a fist bump and profanity thrown over each other’s shoulders. Alex lived a few blocks down Jason’s street. He was nearer to the park too, to which Jason has expressed jealousy many times before.

With a smile, Jason pushed down all of his giddiness as he walked up to the porch of his house. For some reason, he didn’t want to act too eager about this.

“Ma! I’m home!”

“Welcome back, hon,” came the response. Then nothing else. Jason frowned.

He took off his shoes, looking inside the living room to see his mother on her phone, playing Candy Crush, as per usual.

“Was anyone over?” Jason asked. Beryl looked up from her phone and shrugged.

“Not really.”

Trying not to be disappointed, he nodded and trudged up the stairs.

Right when he was pushing his door open, he heard a muffled _ow_ behind his door and something bump into the wood.

The door swung open, showing Nico, who was rubbing at his face.

Looking behind him frantically, Jason shut the door behind him. “ _Why didn’t you tell my mom you were here_?” he hissed. Nico made a face.

“First you hit me in the face with your door, and now you act like you don’t want to see me. I feel so welcomed,” Nico mumbled sarcastically.

Jason huffed. “How about you actually _communicate_ with my mother instead of just shadow-jumping into my room and never coming downstairs? How long have you been in here?”

Nico’s face twisted in confusion, then in thought. “Probably two or so hours? Hedge didn’t really let me go easy.”

Jason frowned, holding Nico by the shoulder. Subtly, he did a whole sweep of Nico’s body for any leftover injuries before sighing. “He had every right to not let you go easy.  You were _wrecked_ , dude.”

Nico snorted, rolling his eyes. “I’ve been wrecked worse before.”

If it was meant to reassure, it had the opposite effect. Jason berated himself for worrying so much. A demigod’s life was dangerous every turn of the corner, every step of the way. He really should have expected Nico to turn up all bloody and beaten at some point.

He just didn’t know when to expect it.

“Hey,” Nico said, pushing Jason’s glasses up his nose for him. Jason, surprisingly, didn’t back off from the touch. Warmth filled him slowly as Nico dropped his hand back to his side. It seemed a little intimate, especially since Nico wasn’t one for touch.

They were both still very much in each other’s spaces. Jason’s back was still pressed up to the door.

“Don’t worry about it. I can handle myself. I’ve got four years of experience behind my back.”

Jason smiled, putting a thumb up to wipe at the concerned crease by Nico’s brow. Nico scrunched his nose a little but didn’t step back from it. “I know that you’re tough as nails. It’s just… I guess it’s natural for me to mother-hen my friends, you know?”

Nico huffed, shaking his head, “Tell me about it.”

“Hey!” Jason said, mock-offended. His smile seemed to diminish the act though.

Nico smiled, and Jason didn’t hesitate to pull him in for a hug.

For a second, Nico tensed before going limp and awkwardly placing his hands by the small of Jason’s back, right below the backpack that was still in place. Jason squeezed, breathing in Nico’s smell, committing the warmth to memory.

“I missed you _so much_ , you li’l rascal. You were gone for so long that even my _mother_ noticed.”

Nico laughed into his shirt, hands finally settling by his waist, “Really? _Beryl_ noticed?”

Jason let go, holding Nico by arm’s length. It was a herculean feat, for sure, but Jason managed. “Sure she did. She likes you. Says you gave a lot of educational tips while watching the Wrath of the Titans.”

Nico gave him an amused look, tone mock-accusatory, “You guys are using me for my educational tips?” Putting his hands by his own waist, he shook his head in disapproval.

Jason raised a brow at this, then shrugged. “We don’t stop you when we’re watching movies. You just do that by yourself. Plus, it’s fun watching you nitpick at crappy movies.”

Nico rolled his eyes, finally stepping out of Jason’s space. Jason felt his breath leave with Nico. He reeled in some leftover composure.

A comfortable silence took over as Jason shuffled around the room to put his bag down by the corner of his desk. Nico plopped down the bed like he owned it. Jason didn’t mind.

“How was your week?” Nico asked conversationally. Jason crouched down beside the bed and lied down, letting his warmth seep into the cold, wooden floor.

“I can’t describe it in just one word, Nico. I’ve been seeing _so_ many sights and everyone just acts like—like it’s completely normal. It feels like I’m living in a different world.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Nico asked, rolling over to his side to look down at Jason from his perch on the bed. Jason grinned.

“Definitely not. You know, the other day, I found a bunch of centaurs by the farmer’s market. Huge, yelling dudes. They were funny.” Jason laughed at the memory, one of the centaurs talking like a hippie to the other. It was like having a fever dream.

The door opened, jolting the both of them out of the temporary silence that took over. Beryl stood by the doorway, blinking. There was a moment when Jason thought she would freak out.

Then… “Jason, why didn’t you tell me you were sneaking Nico into your room?” Beryl asked, glare bordering on accusatory but mostly cautious, like she was intruding on something. Nico snickered, not expecting the reaction.

Jason sat up, sticking a tongue out at his mother. “He sneaked in by himself, for your information.”

Beryl shook her head, letting out sigh through her nose, “Well, Alex is downstairs, if you wanna see him.”

Jason stood up, running to the door right as Beryl trudged over to her room.

“ _Alex?_ ” he shouted from the top of the stairs.

Alex walked up to the bottom of the stairs, looking up at him, holding out a plastic bag with a box inside it. “Hey, bro. I brought leftover donuts. I wanted to see your friend.”

Jason blinked, and carefully, he looked behind him. Nico sat up from the bed, looking at him questioningly. There was genuine curiosity there.

Jason felt like Nico would freak if he introduced Alex immediately. Then again, it might just be his possessiveness. Like he didn’t want anyone from Berkeley find out about Nico, his weird demigod friend from Manhattan, that he also coincidentally had a crush on.

“Hey, my friend says he wants to meet you,” Jason told him. Nico blinked, and then shrugged, standing up from the bed.

Jason jogged down the stairs, socks slipping a little on the waxed wood. “You can take your hoodie off, dude.”

Alex shrugged, “I don’t mind.”

They walked to the kitchen, Alex setting the bag down by the counter. Nico walked into the living room, shuffling through the movie pile.

“Hey, Jay, do you have any other crappy mythology movies I can rip apart?” he asked, not even bothering to look over his shoulder.

Jason laughed, “Probably.”

* * *

 

The next few days were happy and a little bit too short for Jason’s liking. Every night, Nico left, disappearing under the brush of shade by the streetlight next to Jason’s house.

Alex and Nico didn’t get along very well; even though both say ‘he was nice’ when asked about each other. All Jason could do was roll his eyes and say ‘yeah right’.

 

Nico’s visits became more frequent, ranging from one to two days per week. Sometimes he’d even stay over for the night.

“Camp gets boring sometimes after the presented free time,” Nico said one afternoon, looking a little bit too exhausted to be bored, an arm covering his eyes while Jason absently tapped a beat on his knee.

They were lounging around while Jason did his homework. Nico tried to help, especially if it was World History. When it was Chemistry, usually Nico would complain about how Jason didn’t even need to know about these things but he didn’t leave or turn on the TV. Jason was content with sinking into the couch, one of his hands by Nico’s knee and the other holding up a notebook.

When Jason had asked about why Nico was always so tired, he just says, “Volleyball and pegasus duty.” Jason lets it go easily, both amused and a bit concerned. He’d never grow to understand demigod camp duties so he probably shouldn’t try.

Today was a school day. Today was also one of the days Nico came over for an overnight thing, which usually meant that he was meeting Jason in front of the school gates in person.

“How do you even know what time I get out of football practice?” Jason asked after he’d greeted Nico. Nico silently walked beside him.

He had his new jacket on, the one he brought over last Tuesday, claiming that it was a gift from a friend named Reyna. It was a black and white letterman jacket with the words Ghost King sewn on the back and the number 13 under.

With his new purple jeans, newer kicks, and a dark blue shirt (that still, somehow, had skull motifs on it), he looked brand new, so different from that kid in the subway in the worn-out aviator’s jacket.

Way more confident in his stance too. Despite only knowing the younger teen in the span of three to four months, Jason felt a bit proud with this development.

“I asked Coach Hedge a few weeks ago. Apparently he keeps tabs on you,” Nico explained. Jason found that he wasn’t at all bothered that the satyr was looking after him, especially when he had found out about the old goat’s history with a girl named Clarisse La Rue.

“Well, why do you insist in waiting by the school gates like you’re waiting for a date? You look like you got stood up,” Jason joked.

For a moment, he thought Nico wasn’t gonna say anything about it, like many of the other times that Jason had awkwardly tried to bring up the prospect of dating into their conversations.

But this time, Nico gave him a smirk and, “It’s not like I got stood up, right?” He nodded at Jason, a brow raised.

Jason could feel his face flush and his pulse quicken. Did Nico just really?

“Besides,” Nico continued, his smirk turning into a soft smile, facing forward. Though the smirk made Jason flustered, the smile wasn’t making him feel any better. “I just _like_ hearing what mortals think is important in life. I hear a lot of things from people just passing by that post. Things about college, or a job they’re gonna do for extra money, or maybe just an outing with their friends, you know?”

Jason smiled, bumping Nico by the shoulders. “Yeah, I think I get that. Sometimes, it might get a little heavy, hearing people make plans. But with all the shit that goes on in your life that’s out of control, it’s a little relaxing to hear that at least _someone’s_ got something under control, right?”

For a moment, there was a silence between them, when Jason was too focused trying to let all the tension from school seep out. It took him a second to realize that Nico was staring at him.

Flushing, Nico looked away, his shoes suddenly becoming more interesting. Jason smiled, but said nothing about it.

“That’s about right, I think,” Nico mumbled his response. Jason hummed his agreement, and then they slipped back into a comfortable silence.

“Hey, wanna get some donuts before going home?” Jason asked, nodding towards the food district. Nico blinked, and then shrugged.

“Sure, I can go for some donuts.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos to [Nick](http://aplatonicjacuzzi.tumblr.com) for helping out with Alex's history with Jason a bit. Also helping me out with headcanons and emotional struggles. His ao3 is[ here](/users/aplatonicjacuzzi/works)
> 
> (DYK Alex's last name is Verana? lmao probably not. He was also supposed to be an agender character in my other fic, Life Goes On. A child of Athena with a biological mother :O)
> 
> Comments are appreciated! Especially if they lean on the detailed side. I really like gushy comments (or even just comments in general. i'm a huge dork about feedback). Chapters might come in late since school is starting soon but the next chapter is the last one, i think!!
> 
> Here's my procrastination art for the chapter:  
> self-indulgent reunion hug  
> [ nico's outfit](http://stubbornjerk.tumblr.com/post/121273237570) (lmao it's like i have a thing for reynico bros giving each other clothes wth)


	8. Cross-country Outing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A onetime experiment goes great but it kind of has consequences that Jason doesn't like?
> 
>  
> 
> Demigods have really huge dogs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was getting too long so i had to cut it off short. originally the plan _was_ nine chapters.
> 
> lmao i actually thought i could cut this short. why do my characters always drive me past my plot. children, why.
> 
> Comments are appreciated! Go gush about anything, be really specific if you want. There's a word count for the comments section for a reason. Enjoy!

“So, what if you brought me to Manhattan this weekend?” Jason asked, chewing on his donut.

Nico looked over to him, crumbs on his cheek, face contemplative.

With a laugh, Jason reached forward with a thumb to wipe the little bit of chocolate smudged by the corner of Nico’s mouth. Raising a brow at it, he shrugged and licked it off.

Nico looked at him incredulously, flushed down to his neck. His mouth hung open as he gawked at the older teen. Jason gave him an innocent look in return.

“I, uh,” Nico stammered, clearing his throat to regain composure. Jason resisted a laugh.

Finally regaining his composure, Nico took a deep breath. Then, he said, “Why would you go to Manhatta—? Oh, wait. Right.”

Yep, Jason couldn’t come over for Thanksgiving break, which meant that he couldn’t give Thalia her stuff and her Halloween candy. Or come over to New York officially. Why?

 

Because Beryl and Michael had plans for Thanksgiving, and Jason and Michael’s kids got dragged into it.

When he heard the news, he didn’t really mind any.

Michael seemed to be a nice guy. He’s heard of the guy’s kids and he could definitely hang out with them.

But then Beryl reminded him of _it_.

“Sorry you had to cancel your trip to Manhattan, honey…” Beryl apologized. “I know you wanna see Nico.”

For a second, Jason considered denying that he was going to Manhattan for Nico, but then he was hit by all of it at once. He wasn’t going to see Thalia, after months of waiting and working hard for it. He wasn’t going to see Thalia like he’d promised her.

 

Jason took another bite of his donut, dusting off the crumbs that fell into his lap. He carefully ignored the overwhelming emotions that kept on coming back to him despite the announcement having been a couple of days ago already.

Nico hummed, considering the thought. “Well, shadow-travel _is_ cheaper. But I’ve never done a trip that far with a mortal before.”

Jason tried not to deflate in his seat.  Nico still saw through his thinly-veiled disappointment though.

“I- I mean, it could be _easier_ than carrying two demigods and a satyr!” He added hastily, trying to reassure Jason. He smiled, but it felt a bit heavy by the sides. “For all I know, it _could_ be easier…”

“No, it’s okay,” Jason dismissed with a wave of his hand. “It was just a passing thought. I’ll get to go there at some point. I can probably manage a few more months before I see Thal again.”

Seat clattering on the floor, Nico went to stand in front of Jason. “Stand up,” he said, his tone saying that he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

Jason looked up at him curiously; Nico’s eyes were burning with a kind of determination. That kind of look and tone directed at Jason was potent, so it wasn’t really a surprise that Jason stood up immediately.

“W-what are we doing?” Jason finally asked before Nico did anything. Nico grabbed him by the forearm and pulled him towards the exit.

Jason silently followed. He wondered who would take their leftovers but shrugged it off.

“We’re going to Vegas,” Nico replied once they were out on the streets.

Jason faltered in his steps, stumbling when Nico pulled, “What, _now_?” Vegas was a _long_ ways away from Berkeley and Jason still had his backpack on and _what the fuck, they were going to Vegas._

“ _Yes_ , now. It’ll just be a quick jump, c’mon.” Nico answered, pulling him into one of the alleys. It was surreal how he was talking about going to Vegas then back to Berkeley like it was easy. For him, it might have been. For Jason, this was as surreal as celestial beings knocking mortals up and having kids with them.

Despite all of this, Jason followed, not wanting to stumble again and incidentally fall on top of both of them. Especially with Nico’s jacket being new. From what he’s heard, Nico’s friend, Reyna, was the leader of Camp Jupiter and was extremely strict. The jacket probably meant a lot since both Nico and she (judging from what was described to Jason) didn’t seem to take gifts lightly.

Then, Nico turned to him, a little bit of doubt clouding his once determined features. His lips pulled into a grimace, eyes searching Jason’s face for permission, almost like he didn’t just pull Jason out of their donut break himself. He froze, hand stiff by Jason’s arm, shoulders momentarily tensing up.

Jason put his hand on top of Nico’s, and looked the younger teen in the eyes. He racked Nico’s face once more before saying, “Hey. Hey, c’mon. I trust you.”

A flash of surprise and disbelief flashed through Nico’s face, then he blinked sluggishly, doubt slowly seeping out of him. Grip on Jason’s arm slowly loosening, he nodded, muttering a ‘right’.

This was just a little experiment, Jason thought to himself. Nico wouldn’t let _anything_ happen to him.

Nico lifted his other hand to grab onto Jason’s wrist, daintily pulling his hand free from Jason’s hand. Then, slowly, he backed into the alley, pulling Jason with him. His steps were clumsy as he walked backwards. They kept eye-contact.

Jason shuddered, steadied his breathing; pushed down all the thoughts and images of pushing Nico up to a wall and _kissing_ that infinitesimal smidgen of doubt out of Nico’s expression and mind entirely. Pushed away the thought of kissing every negative emotion out of Nico’s system.

This was just an experiment.

“Grab tight,” was Nico’s only warning as he stepped into a shadow.

Fumbling to comply with the request, Jason reached forward to grab onto Nico’s shoulders and pulled the younger teen in an embrace.

Then, Jason could feel his entire being sucked into the shadow like water down a drain. The cold started from his feet to the top of his head.

It was nearly freezing, dark, and a little bit suffocating. Jason’s only solace was the warmth between him and Nico. He’s been to this place only once before. He never saw anything.

He didn’t know when he had shut his eyes. He was pretty sure that it was just the shadows receding from his vision.  But when he could see again, they _definitely_ weren’t in the same alley from before.

He felt Nico’s head slump down onto his chest as he looked around.

Okay, for one, it was colder. Like, not because he and Nico were touching (nowadays, that was usually warm and welcoming, which was a change that Jason greatly approved of), nor was it because he had just come from the shadows (because that was a _different_ kind of cold).

No, it might have been because of the change in environment.

The air was smoggier. Well, don’t think that Berkeley wasn’t even a little _bit_ cleaner, because seriously, it was fucking dirty back in Berkeley. But this was just… _wow_ , could alleyways really get _this_ dirty? Jason scrunched his nose as he breathed in, smelling the dumpster a few paces away.

“Nico, are we really in Vegas right now?” Jason half-whispered, still just a little bit in awe, despite his disgust. It wasn’t that he doubted Nico’s shadow-travelling abilities but, well, Jason wasn’t really used to having to teleport from one state to another in the span of five seconds, okay?

Nico stirred from his position by Jason’s chest, looking around them. “Yeah, Jay, I’m pretty sure we’re in Vegas. But more importantly, how are you feeling?” Nico asked, pushing away from the embrace to look up at Jason.

Jason blinked, considering the answer.

The last time he and Nico shadow-traveled was _ages_ ago, when Nico had told him about the world that the Mist had been covering the whole of Jason’s seventeen (now eighteen) years of life.

Back then, he had been nauseous after the trip, all shaky hands and clammy fingers.

Part of it may have just been the stress/anxiety-induced courage that he brought up to even come up to Nico about the subject. Part of it may have just been because Nico had pointed a sword at him. Maybe it really was the rush of shadow-travel.

Right now, however…

“I’m… fine,” Jason finally said, the wonder evident in his voice. Slowly, he looked down at Nico, grin slowly sliding onto his face. “I’m _fine_! Dude, I’m okay, I didn’t get nauseous!”

He let out an astonished laugh, but his smile immediately slid off, his eyes going back to his companion.

Nico looked a tad paler, the bags under his eyes becoming a little bit darker. Jason grabbed hold of the younger teen’s arms as Nico dropped his grip from Jason’s arm. He was smiling too, albeit weakly.

“How are _you_ feeling?” Jason asked. The weak smile slid off of the younger teen’s pale face. Nico’s head listed to one side, his stare was blank, confusion furrowing his brow at the question. Did he not hear Jason’s question or was he confused about the implications of it?

“Is this… taking a toll on you or something?” Jason clarified, carefully patting Nico by the shoulder.

Nico took a deep breath, blinking sluggishly. Slowly, he nodded. “Yeah, a little, I think.”

Frowning, Jason said, “Do you have enough energy to bring us back?” Because he didn’t have enough pocket money for a bus ride back and his mom might get worried on about how or why they ended up a state away from home on a school day.

“Yeah, I think so,” was Nico’s reply. Jason sighed, but if it was one of relief or exasperation, he didn’t know for sure.

“To my room this time, okay?” Jason told him, grabbing onto Nico’s arms. His voice was soft, in case the fatigue that Nico had extended to minor migraines or, in case Nico was beating himself up for being tired for this one trip.

Jason knew there was no need to fully embrace Nico during jumps, but he couldn’t really have enough excuses to touch the younger teen. Jason took what he could get, okay?

He could feign innocence, anyway. Act like he didn’t know that it was okay to just grab onto Nico’s hand and go along with the jump.

Nico nodded, not questioning it for a bit. Both the request _and_ the hold on his arms. Jason took a deep breath as his being, once again, got sucked into the shadows.

* * *

 

“We are _not_ going.”

“ _Yes,_ we are. And I’m gonna handle it.”

“Well, what are you going to tell my mother then, that we’re just going to New York for two days, no big deal?”

“Yes! _How_ , in Hades’ name, is that a problem, Jay?”

Jason froze from pacing in his room, momentarily taken aback by Nico’s wording. Then, he groaned in frustration, crumpling down his desk chair.

“Okay then. It’s _your_ choice.”

Nico sat up from his bed.

 

They had gone back from Vegas and Nico was immediately conked out on his bed before Jason even got to say anything.

After explaining to his mother that they had ( _somehow_ ) sneaked in via Jason’s window and have been upstairs for several minutes now, Jason had too much time to ponder about shit. Jason Grace, as mentioned before, was _not_ the kind of person to bottle things up.

(He shouldn’t have asked Nico to help him get to Manhattan. He shouldn’t have even _thought_ about it. Because now, Nico was pushing past the point of suggesting.)

Jason _knew_ he was overcomplicating things. But how could he not, right?

Vegas wasn’t really that far, okay? Maybe a few hours in a bus. And now, Nico couldn’t even handle a round trip without having to collapse in exhaustion. What made him think that a quick trip to Manhattan was going to be _easy_?

 

“I don’t think you’re _thinking_ that it’s okay, Jason,” Nico said, bringing him out of his thoughts.

Jason sighed, tired and stressed and all kinds of worried.

“How can I?” Jason asked, his voice sounding a little bit too hopeless for his liking. “I don’t want you doing something reckless because of _me_. I can manage with just plane tickets. That’s the _least_ we could do.”

“But…” Nico urged on. Jason couldn’t stop the fond smile from forming when Nico did this. He forced it off, giving Nico a tentative look instead.

“ _But._ There aren’t any flights to catch that’ll bring me back in time for school on Monday. Trust me, Nico. I’ve _thought_ about this already. I just, I dunno. It really is okay to just _skip_ this month’s trip. There’s always Christmas break.”

“But what if Beryl invites you to Michael’s family for Christmas? The guy lives in San Francisco,” Nico countered.

“ _Theeeen_ … Thalia could come to Camp Jupiter and visit me since it’s nearby?” Jason asked, a hopeful look on his face. It was a logical point. There wasn’t anything wrong with having Thalia visit Camp Jupiter.

Nico glared at him, then deflated, leaning his back on the wall beside Jason’s bed. “What am I going to do with you?” he mumbled under his breath.

“Why are you so adamant on taking me to Manhattan this weekend, anyway?” Jason asked, ignoring Nico’s mumbled frustration. Nico turned to look at him.

“Why are _you_ so adamant on not letting me _take_ you to Manhattan this weekend?”

A silence settled as they glared at each other. Nico was visibly pouting now, arms across his chest, hair still a mess from his nap.

Then, Jason started laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Nico demanded, pout not letting up.

Jason wheezed, dropping down to the floor beside his bed. “We’re both too stubborn to settle this argument.”

Nico glared down at him for a moment, before letting up and rolling his eyes.

“You’re _so_  fucking weird, I swear to all the gods,” he mumbled under his breath.

“What, says the guy that’s related to the lord of the Underworld?” Jason retorted, lying down on the floor, his feet resting on the desk chair.

Nico leaned over the edge, over Jason’s head, and then stuck his tongue out.

* * *

 

“Ma, how many times are you gonna go on dates with Michael?” Jason asked, a little bit tired of watching his mother fumble with her dress for the millionth time in months.

Beryl rolled her eyes, grabbing his OJ and taking a huge chug. Jason frowned. “As much as we _want_ to, Jay. _Besides,_ I don’t tell _you_ how tired I am of seeing you and Nico hang out in your room, now do I?”

“ _Ma_!” he whisper-shouted, looking over his shoulder to make sure that Nico hadn’t heard it.

Nico, currently, was conked out on the couch, having moved there from Jason’s room when Jason went for breakfast. For some reason, the younger teen didn’t like staying in Jason’s room for long when the other wasn’t there.

Jason assumed it was a boundary thing with Nico, despite telling the younger teen that he could make himself comfortable.

“Well, do I? And don’t even _tell_ me you both aren’t dating. You literally went for donuts yesterday and didn’t bring home some for me,” Beryl shook her head in disapproval. “Did you even _ask_ me if I wanted donuts? No!”

“Ma, we’re _not_ dating!” Jason sighed, exasperated, tired, and a little bit sad. “I don’t think he even—I _might_ be—! Look, we’re just _not_. Okay?”

Beryl frowned, expression practically dripping in sympathy. “Aw… _Jay_.”

Jason huffed, downing what’s left of his OJ and dumping his cereal bowl in the sink. “Don’t even _start_ , Mom. I’m not putting up with that this early in the morning.”

“Honey, it’s 10 AM.”

“ _On a Saturday_. I mean, do 9 AMs on a Saturday even _exist_?”

The doorbell ringing brought them out of their back and forth slap-stick humor routine. Beryl bounced on the balls of her heels, “Ooh! That’s him! How do I look?” she asked, spinning around in the middle of the kitchen.

Jason gave her a dry look, “Absolutely _awful_.”

Beryl rolled her eyes and stomped towards the door.

“We’ll be back before lunch, okay? Make sure Nico _eats_ this time!” she shouted, before slamming the door shut. Jason sighed.

 

“Nico, I know you heard that last part,” Jason called out, trudging towards the couch to lean over by the arm of it. He was on the side by Nico’s head, and the younger teen was currently picking at the throw pillows, not wanting to look at Jason.

For some reason, Jason didn’t seem to mind the aspect of the thing he was going to ask next.

“How much did you actually hear then?”

Nico turned his head to look at Jason, eyelids drooping a little since he was still kind of sleepy (or at least that was what Jason assumed it had meant). “Pretty much everything.”

Jason nodded, dropping down to his knees and perching his chin on the arm of the couch. Nico reached a hand up to poke at Jason’s nose.

“And you’re okay with that?”

“With what?” Nico asked.

“With my mom thinking that we’re dating.”

Jason glanced down at Nico for a second, and then glancing pretty much just turned into staring as Nico looked up at him, upside down. They held eyes for a second before Nico turned so that he was on his stomach, eye-to-eye with Jason.

Jason could feel his heartbeat all around him. He hoped Nico didn’t hear how hard his heart was beating against his chest. It was nearly deafening.

“We’re going to Manhattan today,” was all Nico said before bumping Jason’s nose with his, leaning away, and disappearing.

“ _Get a move on, Jay!_ ” Nico called out from upstairs after a few minutes, having shadow traveled up to Jason’s room.

Jason sat back on his heels for a second, forehead touching the arm of the couch. His face felt hot and his throat was dry. He took a deep breath. Several. In. Out. In… out.

Nico di Angelo was going to be the fucking death of him.

“If I finish packing your shit up here and you’re _still_ not off the floor, I’m gonna steal your clothes and leave you.”

Taking one last deep breath, Jason stood up and walked back to the kitchen. He grabbed his phone off the counter.

_

**Mom**

_on second thought, nico and i are going impromptu roadtripping this weekend. i’m taking my keys.  
go spend the whole weekend @michael’s if you want to_

_have fun on your date._

_

Pocketing the phone, he trudged up the stairs.

“You’d better not be going through my underwear and packing the one with the prints on them,” he warned as he reached the top.

His bedroom door was open; Nico was by his drawer, holding a pair of briefs (with Superman prints on it) up in front of him, a look of clear distaste on his face.

“The fuck did I just tell you?” Jason deadpanned, leaning by the door.

Nico pointedly ignored him as he threw the pair back in the drawer and tossed a Captain America pair into the duffel he’d set out.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pajama pants.

_

**Mom**

!!!

okay dear! bring souvenirs!  
u have fun 2, ok? <3

_yeah, mom. thx._

_

He jumped as a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt was shoved into his arms, his phone almost clattering to the floor. Nico grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him to the direction of the bathroom.

“Get changed,” was what he said before he went back into Jason’s room to throw more clothes into the bag.

“Hey,” Jason called out, head popping back into the room. “Don’t pack too many. I left a lot over at Thal’s.”

“Okay, just get changed. Lemme handle this,” Nico waved off, sounding a bit exasperated.

Jason stood there for a second, pondering the moment they had had downstairs. He saw the slight dusting of pink over Nico’s cheeks and the tip of his ears.

Then it was pushed aside by the fact that he was _going to Manhattan today_. He was gonna see Thalia!

Excitement finally catching up to him, he grinned. “Hey, bring the film and Polaroid too. Just, be careful alright?” Then, he went off to changed.

* * *

 

Jason turned a full circle, watching the fields stretch out from the side of the road. He held Nico up with an arm beside him.

“We’re not in Manhattan…” Jason trailed off.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Nico huffed out in between them. Jason squinted, turning his head from side to side. No cars passed the road. 

“I’m guessing we’re in Ohio,” Nico finally said after a moment.

Jason pulled out his phone from his back pocket, surprised but grateful to get reception at such a place. He pulled up his GPS.

“Nope, we’re in Iowa,” Jason replied. Nico grimaced, stepping aside and slowly sliding down Jason’s side. Jason carefully put him down on the ground before standing back up to survey the area.

Jason put his hands on his hips, thoughts going by a mile a minute. On one hand, he wasn’t nauseous, so that meant that the Vegas thing wasn’t a onetime incident. On another, Nico wasn’t as exhausted as Jason had thought he’d be.

Maybe it was the extra bacon Jason cooked up for him.

He glanced back down at his phone, GPS app still open. He might as well brainstorm a way for them to get out of here. He felt Nico’s head hit the side of his thigh, thumping every few seconds.

Jason frowned.

He _wasn’t_. No, not even for a _millisecond_.

He was _not_ going to think or say that this had been a bad idea. Sure, it was impromptu and Jason had every right to back out of it this morning; and Nico was being _reckless_ for him, risking his own health and well-being. And for what? A two-day outing to Manhattan?

And look! They couldn’t even make it to Minnesota!

But they were already here, halfway through the country. And there was no way in _hell_ that Jason was going to be the pessimist in this situation.

A whistle sounded, soft and a bit weak. Jason blinked, looking around for the source of the sound. Then, he realized that it was coming from Nico.

Pressing a hand down to comb through Nico’s hair, Jason asked, “Why are you whistling?”

Nico paused, humming and pushing up to Jason’s fingers. “I’m calling a way to Manhattan.” Then he went back to softly whistling into the wind.

Jason was still confused but he didn’t question it. He just gently lifted Nico’s head from his thigh so that he could sit down beside the younger teen, on the dirt, to let the sun wash over them both.

He listened to the rustle of the crops behind them as the warm winds blew by; let the sound wash over him, letting all the anxiety and stress seep out of him and into the warmth around them.

They were going to be okay, they were going to get to Manhattan before sunset, and Jason was going to see his sister again. And Nico was going to be there every step of the way.

Another gust of wind blew by, stronger, and much cooler than the one before. Jason took a deep breath and cherished it.

A loud _bark_ resounded through the whole field. Jason jumped from his seat, effectively throwing Nico off his shoulder. A few crows squawked behind them.

“Holy shit,” was all Jason could say. In front of them was an _extremely_ large and furry dog. Like, Jason’s _head_ could fit inside that thing’s mouth!

Nico groaned, snapping Jason out of his surprised state.

“Oh, I’m— Sorry about that! I was just… startled by the very huge dog… I’m not the only one seeing this huge fucking dog, right?”

Nico frowned, “Yeah, it’s a dog. And, it’s fine. I should’ve expected it.” Pushing himself up, Nico slumped onto the dog, which caught him halfway by offering its back.

“Wait,” Jason said, moving to stand. “ _This_ is our ride? This huge dog?”

Nico sighed. His backpack’s weight almost making him fall off from his perch on the beast. Jason caught him by the arm, rearranging his hold onto his own duffel. Nico mumbled a thanks before climbing on, and scooching up front to lean forward. Without even a moment of hesitance, he scratched behind the dog’s ear.

“Jason, meet Mrs. O’Leary. She’s Percy’s hellhound. It’s a _long_ story but technically this is Daedalus’ hound,” he explained almost nonchalantly. Bemused, Jason grinned uncertainly and reached a hand out to Mrs. O’Leary.

He got a face full of slobber, making Nico laugh from his perch. Jason made a face. “She’s certainly friendly. Hey, there girl.”

“What, not gonna ask about the thing with Daedalus?” Nico asked, continuing to pat Mrs. O’Leary on the head.

“Nah, I’ll probably hear about it at some point,” Jason shrugged. It seemed like the right thing to say, tone optimistic about their trip. It even made Nico smile a bit, albeit tiredly.

Nico held a hand out, pulling Jason onto the hellhound. Nervously, Jason wrapped his arms around Nico’s waist.

“So, what, we’re gonna ride her over to Manhattan?” Jason asked, voice barely over a whisper. He didn’t know why he was whispering but he was nervous, okay? He didn’t want another Troy incident.

(Okay, the Troy incident was a _long_ story, but technically it was just Jason falling off a horse when he was a kid. He just had the tendency to over-dramatize while telling the tale so it felt longer than the actual event unfolding.

Nope, _definitely_ not gonna want a repeat of that. Also, this hold was _definitely_ for safety reasons. Shut up.)

“Take us back _near_ camp, okay, Mrs. O’Leary?” Nico instructed the hound, like she could very much understand what human language was. Jason didn’t want to think that their ride was untrustworthy, especially one so fluffy and _big_. But, well…

Monster or no, there was no hiding that Mrs. O’Leary was still very much a dog.

There was a moment of silence where all Jason could hear was Mrs. O’Leary’s loud dog panting and the sound of the crops around them. The silence became a bit… awkward.

Jason cleared his throat. “So uh, what now? Yip yip—? _Whoa-hoh holy shit!”_

The hound ran, paws swiping up dirt as Jason held on for dear life.

___

Jason resisted crumpling to the ground and crying in relief. Or kissing the dirt. Whichever was worse. Instead, he sat down the grass and sighed in relief.

He was alive. _Aliiiive!_

Well, he trusted Nico with all of his life, honestly.

But that dog ran like _hell_ (which she should because she was literally a _hell_ hound). If this was what fleas felt like every time a dog was let loose, he would definitely just choose death over _this_ , thank you very much.

“Oh _no_ ,” Nico mumbled under his breath. Jason looked up from where he was still very much cherishing the earth underneath his feet.

Nico stood stiff, stiffer than Jason’s ever seen him before. He was looking at Mrs. O’Leary’s direction, who was…

“Oh, hey there, Neeks! I didn’t know you took Mrs. O’Leary out. Nice new jacket,” Percy greeted from behind the hound. Jason knew it was Percy from the shorts that reached by his knees and the flip flops that came with it. The hound obscured Percy from view by sheer size.

“I, uh, it's a gift from Reyna,” Nico stammered. He looked to Jason, then back to Percy, almost nervous. His breaths came a bit quicker.

“Hey, hey. You good?” Jason asked, pulling himself up to stand beside Nico. Tentatively, he put a hand around Nico’s shoulders, rubbing up and down the younger teen’s arms.

“Jason?” Percy voiced out, sounding surprised and panicked. Jason’s brow furrowed in confusion.

Why was everyone acting so nervous? Did Jason do something dumb?

“Percy,” Nico spoke up, voice practically dripping with uncertainty. Jason frowned. “Did you summon Mrs. O’Leary?”

Percy frowned, his eyes darkening a little with the question. “Yeah, I did. It’s her lunch time. Did I…?”

Jason looked from Percy, to Nico, then back. “Could you two explain what’s going on here? _Please_?” Jason demanded. "Not everyone has the proper mythological education for these kinds of things and I feel like you guys are telling  me that I just fucked something up."

Nico’s shoulders released some of its tension with the sigh that he gave. Carefully, he shrugged Jason’s hands away from his shoulders to look Jason in the eyes.

“Jay, we’re inside Camp Half-Blood,” he muttered gravely. “Mortals aren’t allowed in here.”

Jason blinked, "Is that... a  _bad_ thing?"

"Not necessarily," Percy answered after Mrs. O'Leary bounded off to do whatever it was that hellhounds did. "It's just a really...  _serious_ matter and we might get in trouble for it."

Jason raised a brow at this, then snorted. "Aren't you two like, heroes of Olympus or something? Is inviting me in a taboo?"

Nico's frown deepened, but the nervousness had faded out of it. Jason internally cheered, that meant that he just said something  _right_ and had convinced Nico that nothing was completely wrong. "I suppose not. Some of us here are just not as well-received than others," he replied, glancing over at Percy.

If Percy took notice of the look, he didn't show it. Instead, he just grinned. "You're great, Jason. You really know how to talk things out."

"Thanks?" Jason replied, though he felt like he just cheated in whatever was happening here. Nico and Percy had behaved weirdly with his presence inside the camp, he couldn't just shake it off as easily as Percy just did.

"Now," he said, putting his hands to his waist. "Let's get you a tour of the camp."


	9. Faun Troubles and Tourist Spots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason gets to be inside Camp Half-Blood.
> 
>  
> 
> He wonders why they called it Half-Blood Hill, what with its big statue and pine tree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chapters might come in later than my usual 3 to 4 days so, sorry! school started and i kind of have to divvy up my time with studying, assignments, homework, and writing this.
> 
> comments are _always_ appreciated and, can I just say, [Nick](/users/aplatonicjacuzzi/works) helps out a fucking _lot_ , especially since I've been having... emotional stuff happening.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Nico called out, jogging up next to Jason, who was currently following a rather cheerful Percy out of their clearing and into the forest. “Percy, is this _really_ okay?”

Percy looked at Nico, brow furrowed in confusion, “Why is it _not_ okay?”

“Well,” Nico started, glancing at Jason for a second as if seeing if this was bothering him at all. Jason nodded for him to continue, genuinely curious of what Nico was going to say. “Chiron might not... take it well that we didn’t ask him or Mr. D if this is okay...”

“We’ll just tell them it was an accident and that Jason technically already knows about camp and all of _this_ ,” Percy explained nonchalantly, waving an arm around them in a wide sweep that clipped Jason by the glasses. “I mean, don’t you already know about camp, Jace?”

Jason blinked as the conversation was suddenly pointed at him. Wait, did Percy just call him _Jace_? “Uh, yeah, I already know about this place. And Camp Jupiter. This is the first time I’ve been to any of the camps though.”

“See? We don’t even have to lie,” Percy said, looking towards Nico. “He’s gonna be _fine_ , Neeks. What’s the _worst_ that could happen?”

Jason elbowed him lightly, “Dude, don’t _ask_ that. That’s like, _asking_ for the worst that could happen.”

Percy snickered, “You actually believe in that stuff?”

Jason rolled his eyes, fixing his grip on his duffel, “I’ll stop believing it when it _doesn’t_ end up working, thank you very much.”

“True,” Nico muttered. Percy threw a glare over Jason’s shoulder, towards the younger teen.

“No, _don’t_ say it,” Percy warned.

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Nico replied innocently. Percy huffed, exasperated.

Jason tried not to feel a little jealous that the two were sharing an inside joke while he was standing smack dab in the middle of them.

“So, uh, why aren’t mortals allowed in… _here_?” Jason asked, looking around. It was, well, they were in the middle of a forest, at the moment. It was cold, colder than usual. And Jason was thankful that Nico handed him the button-up, really, but it was kind of too thin for him.

There was a moment of silence that ruled between all three of them. Nico kept kicking at stray rocks. Jason observed, slightly distracted and at awe at the sight of the grass around the younger teen grow yellow and gray, and flaking away, withered. Jason shivered, then wondered what Nico was thinking about.

It usually grew colder when Nico was too emotional.

On Percy’s side, there was a slight frown and a furrowed brow, “You know, I actually don’t really _know_? I was just told that mortals aren’t allowed in here, and that they can only get in when permitted.”

“Was _I_ permitted?” Jason asked, gaze going from the dying grass to Percy. His shoe caught onto something, and then he heard giggling. Nico held him still before he fell down, mostly out of reflex.

“Thanks,” Jason mumbled. Nico nodded but glared at the root that Jason had almost tripped on like it was the one at fault and that it wasn’t just an accident.

“Never mind the dryads, dude. They just get bored sometimes,” Percy waved off, walking ahead of him. Jason blinked. A dryad tripped him?

So it _wasn’t_ just an accident then.

“Anyway, yeah,” Percy continued, completely undeterred by the fact that Jason was still trying to take it in. Jason thought maybe the teen didn’t even notice it. “You _kind of_ were permitted, I guess, since you rode in with Mrs. O’Leary and Nico. Otherwise you’d either _still_ be in the shadow realm or just a weird splat outside the camp borders.”

“Shadow realm?” Jason laughed, “What, like Yu-gi-oh?”

Percy rolled his eyes, “Yeah, dude. _Exactly_ like Yu-gi-oh. Anyway, why aren’t you more concerned that you may have almost died?”

Jason shrugged, grinning. “Well, I would be concerned, if, y’know, I actually knew about that _before_ I ended up in here. But now I know and I’m pretty much still in good shape so, it’s kind of a win-win?”

He could hear Nico huff beside him. Pouting, Jason looked at Nico, who gave him the driest look the younger teen could manage. Jason stifled the smile and laugh that came with it.

Nico looked away with the roll of his eyes, and then suddenly, the air wasn’t as cold as it was.

“Your logic is _so_ amazing sometimes,” Nico mumbled out, sounding a bit frustrated. “Why didn’t _I_ ever think about telling you about the camp borders? Oh, _that’s_ right, you didn’t _want_ to know anything about it. _Zeus’ nuts_.”

Jason giggled, yes, actually giggled. “ _Nuts_. You’re really silly sometimes, y’know?”

“Hey, I’m actually _concerned_ for your wellbeing. I’m going to have to list down all the things you never thought to ask about that could kill you within five seconds, monster knowledge excluded,” Nico said, bumping his arm.

“I know,” Jason said, grinning as he looked on ahead.

He was just going to take this moment and cherish the fact that Nico was actually that concerned for him. He knew for a fact that Nico had dyslexia. That, and telling Jason all of that was just a testament of how concerned the younger teen actually was.

Usually, Nico didn’t like letting on with feelings so Jason had to read his facial expressions, search for clues.

The honesty was a thing that Jason wouldn’t mind being a constant between them.

“Well, _everyone_ here talks like that. Here, _you’re_ the weird one,” Nico countered his previous statement. When Jason glanced, there was a light dusting of pink by his cheeks, darkening his pale skin. Jason’s grin grew wider.

“ _Finally_ , the forest has ended! We’re free!” Percy shouted dramatically, grabbing Jason’s attention. The other teen had begun jogging up ahead. Jason rushed to catch up but enough to let Nico keep up. Nico might have seemed less fatigue than he was from yesterday’s trip from Vegas but he was still more tired than he’d let on.

“Slow down, some of us are still wobbly here,” Jason called out.

“Speed up, ya bunch of old goats,” Percy replied with a grin. Jason frowned as he noticed that it didn’t quite reach his eyes, like his usual mischievous grins. He glanced at Nico, who didn’t seem to want to notice it, eyes locked on the ground.

Jason faltered a little in his steps as he looked around the area.

For one, there was a huge bronze statue on the hill next to a pine tree (which was also probably huge). That really caught his attention seeing as he wasn’t really expecting it. That thing could be as huge as a three-story apartment building, how did mortals not notice that?

From his viewpoint, he saw cabins littering the area near them, next to an open hall with tables and benches. Probably where they ate, Jason thought to himself. The cluster was next to a creak in the distance. Squinting, he could make out a lake and other obscure buildings that he couldn’t make out.

“Welcome to Camp Half-Blood,” Percy said again, after a moment of silence between them, snapping Jason out of his stupor. “You ain’t seen nothing yet. Wait ‘till you see the _stables_ , dude.”

Behind Jason, Nico sighed exasperatedly, “A mortal arrives at a magical camp, and the first place you bring him to is the place that smells like shit twenty-four seven. You sure got your priorities straight, Jackson.”

“Gee, thanks,” muttered Percy, voice taking a sarcastic tone. Jason chuckled at this.

“Well, what do _you_ suggest, Professional Tour Guide, if you’re so smart?” Percy asked, brow raised in a look that was seeing if Nico was going to pass up on the challenge or not.

Nico smirked at Percy, making Jason smile because Nico knew enough about him to know what he’d definitely think is cool. “Let’s go straight for the cabins then, if we’re gonna get all tourist-y here.”

Percy snorted, “The cabins? Why would anyone go there first?”

“ _You_ wouldn’t know. You’ve been here for how many years?” Nico asked rhetorically, before trudging down the hill ahead of them. Jason followed him, shouldering his duffel to put a hand on Nico’s shoulder for balance.

“Are you suggesting that I’m old?” Percy called out.

Jason laughed, “Probably.”

“I didn’t _say_ anything. _You’re_ the ones assuming shit,” Nico countered.

Jason kept quiet as they went back and forth. He was pretty much too busy looking around the place.

As Nico had said, they were approaching the cluster of cabins. From here, Jason could see why Nico wanted them to go here for the ‘tourist-y’ part.

Each cabin had its own design. From what he’d recognized, it was based off of the Greek gods. It was cool to see, actually. Grinning, Jason opened up his duffel and pulled out the Polaroid camera.

“Can I take pictures in here?” Jason asked, looking at Nico, who was grinning too. Jason saw the underlying smug tilt to his smile, which was probably the reason why Percy was pouting.

“Yeah, dude,” Percy said finally, blinking at the camera like it had just appeared into Jason’s hands. “Go nuts.”

And Jason did. Well, technically, not literally.

Nico walked him through the cabins, citing out facts and little stories from each of the gods and goddesses that the cabins represented. Jason listened, eager to hear any of Nico’s stories.

 Halfway through their journey, Percy said he needed to go to some of his classes before running off. Jason waved goodbye, then went back to taking pictures.

Something caught his eye as they passed. Stopping for a bit, he walked up to the cabin.

“Nice cabin, Nico,” he commented. “Though it _could_ use more pastel.”

Nico laughed, surprised at the suddenness of the comment, “Dad said the same thing.”

Jason looked at the shorter teen, raised a brow in consideration, before grinning and waving the younger teen over. “C’mere,” he said, before grabbing Nico by the arm when he was close enough, and fumbling to arrange the camera positioning with one hand.

Nico didn’t even try to struggle, just grinned at his struggle until he successfully fixed the position. Triumphant grin on his face, he wrapped an arm around Nico’s shoulder and rest his head on top of the younger teen’s dark curls.

“Look into the camera and don’t blink,” Jason warned before the camera flashed.

It spit out the photo paper, which Jason waved around for a bit before safely tucking it into his bag.

Nico wiggled under his arm, “I wanna see,” he whined. Jason laughed at his whining before whipping the pictures out of his duffel.

Thanks to Nico’s excessively neat packing, his pictures were safe no matter how rough the trip was. They all came out pretty good, the lighting was great and they looked really pretty even if it wasn’t all detailed.

Nico grabbed the one with them in front of his own cabin and looked at it. Jason snooped up behind him to see over his shoulder.

Jason’s hair had caught a bit of light from the flash, glowing pale in the afternoon. They were both smiling into the camera, though Nico looked a bit doubtful and shy, his shoulders drawn together under Jason’s arm.

Jason could feel his cheek muscles ache from all of this smiling but he couldn’t help it. He daintily took the photo from Nico, who was smiling fondly at it.

“You want me to get you a copy of that one?” Jason asked, as he put it away in his bag. He put the camera’s strap and wore it around his neck.

“I-if you don’t mind,” Nico mumbled, nervously biting at his upper lip as he stared off into his cabin, promptly glancing up at Jason before averting his eyes.

Jason felt a wave of intense fondness for the younger teen. “Of course!” he said enthusiastically.

“Hey, what’s a mortal doing in here?” asked a voice from behind, bringing them both out of… whatever they were in.

Jason tried not to openly gawk as he turned to see what it was.

“Don, wait—” Nico called out.

“Speak up, _graecus_. Before I report you in with the higher-ups,” threatened Don.

“Look, dude,” Jason started, trying not to flinch as the satyr turned his glare at him. “We can talk this out properly.”

“Shut up, mortal, wasn’t talking to _you_ ,” Don snapped back. Jason took a deep breath to calm himself.

“And what ‘higher-ups’ are going to believe some untrained _faun_ , huh, Don? You know how the elder satyrs are like,” Nico spoke up, authority now clear in his voice. Jason felt a little taken aback. Memories flashed of Nico up against the Furies.

“Besides, he got in here with permission. Go ask Percy if you want,” Nico said dismissively.

Huffing, Don gave them both heated glares before trudging off, muttering what Jason could guess was Latin profanity under his breath.

When the faun was out of sight, Nico deflated from his square-shouldered stance and plopped his head down Jason’s arm.

“What’s _his_ deal? And the distinction with fauns and satyrs. I thought they were the same thing?" Jason asked. Carefully, he put a hand on Nico’s shoulder and led them to the porch of the younger teen’s cabin.

“Don’s just really mad about having to getting out of the free faun lifestyle,” Nico answered.

 “Fauns are Roman and they usually just go around asking for scraps in New Rome, since the Romans don’t like treating their more docile monsters equally,” he explained, free hand waving out as the other settled on Jason’s knee. “The satyrs have the job of going around and taking in demigods.”

“So, they brought the fauns here to train them for that kind of lifestyle?” Jason asked. Almost a bit sagely, Nico nodded with closed eyes. Jason hummed at the approval.

“It’s a new program that Reyna and Frank, the praetors in Camp Jupiter, approved of just this week. Grover, one of the lead satyrs here, approved of it. They discussed that it was going to help with the integration of both camps, or something like that,” Nico explained some more. Jason raised a brow at this, grinning.

“ _Or something like that_?” Jason asked.

Nico leaned back on his hands, stretching his legs out in front of him. “I don’t really like listening in during meetings. Usually because I’m tired from travelling when they call for meetings. But also because I can’t really insert anything in these kinds of meetings. They’re just giving the ‘useless monsters’ something to do other than go around New Rome annoying everyone.”

A horn blew out, drawing Jason’s attention from Nico to one of the nearest speakers. It didn’t look like it was connected to anything in particular so Jason thought maybe it worked with magic or something.

Beside him, Nico cursed in Italian under his breath. Then in three other languages.

“ _All cabin counselors please report to the Big House for a meeting in five minutes please_ ,” said the voice over the PA system.

With a sigh, Nico stood up. Jason blinked at him.

“You’re a cabin counselor?”

“Technically,” Nico said, stretching. “I’m the counselor since I’m the only one living inside my cabin. That and, I’m probably the subject of that meeting since I brought _you_ in.”

Jason frowned, head listing to the side to show confusion. “Are you in trouble because of me?”

Nico froze, then shook his head, “No. It’s probably because Don really _did_ report in to higher-ups.”

Jason gave him a skeptical look but nodded. “News spreads fast around here, I’m guessing.”

Nico nodded at that like it was actually true, and gently grabbed at Jason’s duffel. “C’mon. I’m assuming they want _you_ in that meeting too. I’m gonna put this in my cabin for the meantime.”

Jason let go of the bag easily and watched as Nico entered the dark cabin. “Why would they want me in your meeting?”

Nico walked out, grinning, “You’re the guest of honor. Now stand up, it’s a long walk from here to the Big House.”

* * *

 

“Nico, you probably know the purpose of this meeting already,” said the man by the front of the table when everyone had settled five minutes later. Jason kept his gaze constantly looking around but it was clear to him (and known to everyone in the room) that the man was a centaur.

All around the tables were different faces. Some chairs were still empty. Jason felt a bit of dread knot at his stomach as he saw that Thalia wasn’t there with them.

“Yes, Chiron. It’s because I brought here with me, Jason Grace, Thalia’s younger brother,” Nico answered with uncharacteristic calm. Jason brushed his fingers to Nico’s knuckles for a second before withdrawing. Nico spared him a grateful glance before bringing his attention back to Chiron.

“How’s that an issue exactly?” asked one of the counselors. She was holding an army knife, her head currently settling onto her hand as she looked on, horribly bored.

“Let him talk and maybe we’ll get there, Clarisse,” Annabeth answered, sounding irritated from the other side of the table. Clarisse rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything else.

Chiron gestured, “Continue, Nico.”

Nico nodded. “The issue, as Clarisse and everyone in this room might be curious about, save for Annabeth, is that: Jason is very much mortal and should not be able to enter the camp borders.”

A kind of silence happened around the table. Jason took a deep breath. Suddenly, all eyes were on him. Well, save for the teen who was asleep, that offered Jason some kind of solace.

He felt Nico brush knuckles with him again. He threw Nico a nervous smile, then nodded meekly at the group. “I was just riding in with Nico to see Thalia this weekend. Mrs. O’Leary… kind of brought us _here_ by accident. I didn’t really mean to cause… a meeting about _this_ , I guess.”

From across the table, Chiron gave him a grateful smile, almost fatherly. Jason clenched and unclenched his fists by his sides, a nervous tick. He was used to elderly people like teachers giving him that kind of attention. But from Chiron, it kind of felt like Jason couldn’t live up to what the centaur was expecting of him.

He kicked the thought out of his head before it became conceivable.

The whole room’s tension ran out as the door slammed open, surprising everyone. One of the snoring counselors snorted, briefly stirring, before going back to sleep. Jason could feel the grin on his face go from ear to ear as he took a look at the door.

“Sorry we’re late,” Thalia panted, clothes and hair too disheveled to be caused by just sprinting to the Big House. Beside her was an equally disheveled and tired Piper. “Had a little run-in with some…” she trailed off as her eyes landed on Jason.

Then, she started shouting.

“ _You fucking rascal, what the hell are you_ doing _here?!_ ” she shrieked, running to tackle Jason like she wasn’t ‘sprinting’ five seconds before this. Jason laughed.

“Your language please, Ms. Grace,” Chiron scolded, but the berating tone was nonexistent as he smiled at the display.

Abruptly, Thalia pulled out of the hug, taking his face into her hands as she started peppering him with kisses on the cheek.

Then, she pushed away roughly, making Jason bump into Nico. Nico held him up from behind. “You _idiot_ ,” she yelled, like Chiron didn’t already scold her. “What are you doing here? _How are you_ in _here?!_ ”

“Well, Thalia,” called out a blond teen from the table. Jason thought he looked like a stereotypical Californian surfer, with his long hair, tan with freckles all over, and blue eyes. “If you could sit down, Jason here can explain it all over again. It was the purpose of the meeting, after all.”

Thalia stepped back and hastily grabbed a chair for both her and Piper, almost too eagerly. Jason stifled a laugh at her but was surprised when he saw Percy walk in (late) with extra chairs, for him and Nico.

“Late again, Percy,” Chiron chided lightly, not even looking away from the table in front of him.

Percy shrugged, handing the stack of chairs over Jason before going to his seat beside Annabeth, which had been reserved, “I went for a swim.”

Jason handed one of the chairs to Nico as he sat down. Hopefully, it wasn’t noticeable how he held on for a few seconds too long for just helping Nico with his seat. He shot a glance at Thalia, who didn’t look like she noticed. She probably didn’t.

“Mr. Grace,” Chiron said, an urging tone evident in his voice. Jason blinked and returned his attention to retelling the tale.

“Right,” Jason muttered, fidgeting a little in his seat. “So, uh, Nico and I planned on coming to Manhattan to visit, uh, my sister.” He gestured to Thalia, who raised a brow at that.

“Nico here couldn’t make it past Iowa so we had to stop for a moment,” Jason continued, nodding towards the younger teen beside him.

Surfer Dude from earlier frowned disapprovingly, opening his mouth as if to say something, but Nico cut him off, “ _Shut it_ , Solace. I’m _fine_. Anyway. I called over Mrs. O’Leary so that we didn’t have to struggle with having to get here through the countryside or with having to deal with hostile monsters.”

“Hellhounds can’t get in again without permission,” another teen spoke up. She was mousy, in every definition. Beside her was another girl with red hair.

“Right, everyone _knows_ that, Lou,” said Clarisse, picking at the splinters that her knife had made.

“I didn’t,” Jason spoke up, amused and the slightest bit terrified at the glare that Clarisse sent his way.

“Focus, everyone,” Chiron scolded. “And Will, please wake Clovis up.”

Will (who was Surfer Dude and Solace, apparently) moved to swat at the slumbering Clovis. For a total of a second, Clovis was up, and then he was asleep again.

“Right,” Nico said, effectively pointing all of the attention at himself. Jason lightly bumped his leg with Nico’s for a bit of consolation, getting a bump back. “So, in that exact same time that we were on the way to Manhattan with the hellhound, turns out that Percy called her in for lunch time.”

A brown haired teen laughed from between Piper and Annabeth, “Plot twist, bro.”

Percy went to give the teen a high-five, but got shoved off by Annabeth, who he had to lean over to get to reach for a high-five.

“So, yeah. Here we all are, I guess,” Jason said finally, with a shrug.

“What was the purpose of this meeting again?” Clarisse asked, looking at Chiron.

“The purpose was, Ms. la Rue, supposedly the safety and security of the camp. Apart from Rachel Elizabeth Dare, Jason here is another mortal who’s gained in on our borders,” Chiron explained.

“Which reminds me,” Percy spoke up, effectively cutting Chiron off from what he was about to say. Beside him, Annabeth frowned disapprovingly. “Why _do_ we need to keep the mortals out?”

Jason jumped a little at the loud snort that came from Clovis. “Remember when… the Titans controlled the government… a few years back?” he asked, before going back to sleep.

“That’s a great point, Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth piped up, frowning at her boyfriend. “Now shut up.”

“Thank you, Annabeth,” Chiron said with a fond smile. “Anyway, this isn’t much of a security issue as it is that we need to be more aware of how this could affect our loose ties with the Romans. As you all should know, it was a _faun_ who had vehemently reported this to me. And as everyone in this council might know, the Romans don’t approve much of mortals gaining in on _their_ borders, as was their reaction on our sending our Oracle to them.”

Clarisse scoffed, “ _Fauns_.”

Piper shook her head disapprovingly, “They try their best, Clarisse. They just all have to learn to adjust.”

Clarisse waved her off with the army knife, practically horrifying Jason for a few seconds.

“So, what do you suggest? More patrols around the area?” asked Annabeth. At that question, the brown-haired teen that Percy couldn’t high-five groaned.

“Travis, manners,” Chiron scolded. Travis crumpled in his seat and pouted.

Chiron looked back at Annabeth, “It’s a good suggestion, but we rarely have the need to watch out for mortals. Since the barriers only have incidental advantages, it would help if we know them all so that we may avoid whatever is causing it.”

“So, when are we going to tell Reyna and Frank about this?” Percy asked, leaning forward on the table.

“I suggest as soon as we can,” Chiron answered. “I have been trying but it seems that they are busy at the moment.”

“I’ll do it,” said Piper. “I haven’t seen Hazel and Reyna for a while.”

Chiron nodded at this, then clapped his hands. Clovis jolted awake, groggily looking at Chiron. “Dismissed. And try not to let this information out yet, if you can.”

There was a noise of approval from all over the table as they all stood up from their seats. Jason was then grabbed by the arm and dragged out of the Big House.

It was Nico. And he seemed to be in a hurry.

“Dude, I have to talk to my sister, hold your horses,” Jason said as they passed the front door. Nico recoiled from Jason’s arm, like he was burnt or hurt.

“Sorry,” he muttered, hands nervously wringing at his rings again. “I just—that room was a bit too crowded for me.”

“Oh,” was all Jason could say. Then, he smiled gently. “It’s okay, dude. I’m sorry I didn’t notice sooner. I’ll just take a minute. Meet you at your cabin?”

Nico shook his head. “Meet me at Half-Blood Hill.”

“Half what now?”

With a roll of his eyes, Nico pointed to his side. Jason looked at where the teen was pointing.

Oh, Statue and Pine Combo Hill. So _that’s_ what they called it. Jason looked back at Nico and nodded, “Sure. Don’t leave without me, ‘kay?”

Nico rolled his eyes again, then left Jason by the porch of the Big House.


	10. Domesticity and Silent Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason and Nico go back to Thalia's apartment.
> 
>  
> 
> Slapstick humor makes a comeback.

“So the reason you came to visit me _this_ weekend instead of Thanksgiving... is because of Beryl and her new boyfriend?” Thalia asked after a moment of silence had passed between them.

By the porch railing, Jason nodded.

“And... you’re _apologizing_ for that,” Thalia stated carefully, a grin slowly creeping on her face; her freckles shifting with her cheeks as her smile reached her eyes.

Jason rubbed at the nape of his neck, embarrassment forming quicker than his nervousness when he’d realized that he really _did_ have to talk to his sister quickly after Nico left him minutes ago.

“Yeah, I, uh, guess so.”

Thalia walked up to him, her army boots sounding heavily on the wooden floorboards. Her hand lifted to pinch at his cheek. “You absolute _dork_ , that’s not something to be sorry about. That’s something to _celebrate!_ Meet me back at the apartment tonight, okay? We’ve got a _lot_ to talk about over Chinese takeout.”

Jason smiled too, nodding. He’d missed this, her unconditional love and ability to make him feel at ease with just a few words. He never even noticed how much he’d missed it until this very moment.

Stepping forward, he hugged her, not at all surprised when she hugged back just as tightly. “I missed you so much,” he muttered onto her shoulder.

“Me too, Jay.”

* * *

 

He was still smiling as he bounded up Half-Blood Hill, but it faltered as he gawked in awe at the statue. From the distance, he’d thought it was just a statue with a little bit of paint on it but now he could _see_.

It was an honest-to-god _solid_ _bronze_ statue. Who the fuck could afford that kind of shit?

“That’s Athena,” said a voice.

Jason jumped a little, looking down from the statue to the pine tree next to it. Nico was in the shade, their bags right next to him while he... cuddled up to a dragon.

What the…?

“You mean, like, Annabeth’s mom?” he blurted out, ignoring the dragon for a moment, in favor of some kind of light-hearted conversation.

“Yep.”

Jason grinned mischievously at Nico’s nonchalance. “So you’re saying… Annabeth is part-bronze statue?”

Nico’s face twisted into utter confusion that it made Jason snicker. “ _No_ , you idi—don’t fucking mess with me, Jay.” He frowned disapprovingly (though the disapproval looked forced, to the point that Jason could see the grin trying to push through), while Jason started laughing.

Beside Nico, the dragon stirred in its light slumber. Jason stepped back out of reflex.

“Is that a _legit_ dragon?” Jason asked cautiously, eyeing the beast warily.

Nico nodded, glancing down at the slumbering dragon with a look of fondness. “His name’s Peleus.”

“Like, from the Argo? Phthia’s king?”

“Probably,” he shrugged, then went to lie down by Peleus’ middle. Jason blinked, and then shrugged, before crouching down beside the younger teen, and going for his duffel bag.

Bringing his camera up, he took a picture of Peleus and Nico, then moved back to stand.

“So, why are we not in your cabin right now?” he asked, continuing on taking pictures.

The bronze statue glowing against the light, looking beautiful and mighty in that ‘can totally smite you way with the snap of my fingers’ kind of way. The tree and the glinting gold fleece hanging from it.

Jason slowly lowered his camera in realization. _This_ was Thalia’s tree. This was where his sister had been revived. He took a moment to stare carefully at it, in complete awe of how old it looks and how huge it became.

Seven years worth of growth, Jason told himself.

“Maybe it’s because I’m still your appointed tour guide,” Nico answered with a bored tone, completely ignorant to Jason’s thoughts.

When Jason looked, the younger teen was holding up a piece of grass to Peleus’ nose, waving it around the puffs of smoke coming from the dragon’s nostrils.

“Hey, leave that dragon alone,” Jason chuckled. Nico looked up at him, brow raised as if to ask ‘are you gonna stop me’.

Jason probably wouldn’t have anyway.

“So, where are you taking me then, Mr. Tour Guide?” Jason asked, holding a hand out to pull Nico up from his seat on the grass. Nico took it, muttering a ‘thanks’ as he started dusting himself off.

“ _Did_ you want to see any tourist spots today?” Nico asked, readjusting the straps of his backpack. For a moment, Jason thought about it, and then shook his head.

“Not really. We _could_ probably just head straight for Thal’s right now, since I kinda have to stay up and talk to her all night,” Jason explained, putting his camera back into his bag, snug over the photos he’d already taken. “Plus, you look like you’re about to conk out if you lie down for more than five seconds.”

Nico frowned, squinting up at him. “I don’t mind going around Manhattan some more if you want to play tourist for the rest of the day. We could head to the Empire State Building if you want. Olympus is on the top so we can probably use a telescope from the hundredth floor, since mortals aren’t allowed in there. Or maybe even the Statue of Liberty on Staten Island, as cheesy as _that_ sounds.”

Jason rolled his eyes, smiling. “It’s not really fun if I’m the only one enjoying myself,” he said. Nico shrugged, not even moving to say that he’ll be enjoying himself with Jason no matter what.

Jason was really starting to like this honesty thing.  

“Y’know, for a guy who doesn’t usually _stay_ in one place too long, you sure know a lot about New York,” he commented absentmindedly as he made his way down the hill.

He faltered in his steps as he felt something go through his entire being. It wasn’t a shudder, or an emotion. It felt… _solid_ and extremely invasive. He tried to catch his breath, feeling his heart beat faster than was necessary.

“Are you okay?” asked Nico.

Jason took a shaky breath, shaking his head to get the feeling out of his system. He felt open, vulnerable, _not safe_.

He felt a hand by his arm, then he saw Nico, with his concerned look and deep brown eyes, and Jason had to physically restrain himself to wrap his arms around Nico. Instead, he sighed and rested his forehead on top of Nico’s head.

“I think I just passed through the borders,” Jason mumbled, nuzzling on Nico’s head, breathing in the smell of Jason’s shampoo on the younger teen’s hair.

Nico put pressure on his arm, making Jason pull away. “You _felt_ that?” he asked, the concern dripping from his tone. There was a look of disbelief on his face.

“Yeah. It kinda emotionally triggered something in my head so I need to calm down... Gimme a sec.”

The silence that wafted through the space between them, along with the gust of wind that did little to lower his heart rate, blowing Nico’s hair to his eyelids. Gradually, safety seeped into Jason’s being; his heart slowed down and returned to its normally unnoticeable beating, and Jason’s fingers finally returned to their original temperature.

Reluctantly, Jason pulled away, glancing down at Nico and his pink nose and freckles. He smiled, something warm and grateful.

“Let’s get going.”

“Yeah, okay.”

* * *

 

“You ever been to Thal’s place?” Jason asked when they got into the elevator.

Nico’s hands were in his pocket, a clear sign of nervousness. Jason has learned to notice these things. Nico had the tendency to move his hands around. Pick at the fabric of his clothes, bite his fingernails, or twist the ring on his finger.

Jason’s learned to distract Nico from this habit through conversation or jokes.

“Not really,” Nico replied, pulling his hands out of their hiding places. “I’ve been traveling around, sure, but I don’t stick around when…”

The elevator _ding_ ed, then creaked open. Jason led the way. “When what?”

He fished the keys out of his pockets, glancing a bit at Nico. Hands in his pockets, again.

“Never mind.” Then the conversation was over.

Jason shrugged his worry off, knowing that pushing this kind of thing wasn’t going to get him anywhere. He had a feeling that he knew exactly where the conversation was going anyway.

“Well, here’s Thalia’s place, I guess,” he stated with a flourish as he opened the door. Nico entered the door, his hands coming out of his pockets once again.

Jason shut the door behind him as Nico explored the hall, shoes already off by the doorway, looking at the walls that were littered with some of Jason’s photographs from the last visit. Jason smiled at the look of bemusement on Nico’s face.

Jason took off his own shoes, walking past the younger teen. “I’ll have to make sure to tell Thalia to take you in when camp gets too crowded for you, okay? This place needs someone to live in so that the rent isn’t wasted.”

“You don’t have to,” came Nico’s almost automatic response.

“And that’s exactly why I have to,” Jason countered, setting the keys down by the kitchen counter. Their eyes met. Nico by the hall to the door, hand by the wall as he stepped into the living room. Jason by the kitchen counter, a resolute look on his face.

“No, you literally don’t have to. This is a safehouse,” Nico said, brows furrowing to a look of stubbornness that Jason has grown more accustomed to, as of recent events.

“What do you mean?”

Nico sighed, going around the couch and flopping down, like how he usually would back in Berkeley. “The three of them: Thalia, Annabeth, and Luke. They were three demigods on the run for a few years before Grover found them and took them to Long Island. They set up shelters around North Carolina, Connecticut, DC, and Kansas for demigod safety.

“Thalia and Annabeth insisted on making this one the nearest shelter. Since… since the past few months, we’ve had to relocate some of them for quest-goers and satyrs.”

Jason sat down on the stool by the counter, setting his duffel down on the top. “Since the past few months? And, why would you have to relocate them if Annabeth and Thal are there?”

Nico sighed, lying down on the couch. “…Thalia will have to tell you that one. It’s a long one.”

Jason stood up, peering over the couch, “Hey, don’t fall asleep _there_. There’s a perfectly good unused bedroom just a few steps ahead! Get up!”

Nico turned farther into the couch, letting it swallow him up. Jason rolled his eyes.

“Do you want to be carried to your quarters, Your Royal Highness?”

Nico just mumbled, but Jason thought it didn’t sound anything close to a no. Bracing his knees, he picked Nico up and put the younger teen on his shoulder, like carrying a sack. Nico didn’t even struggle.

Jason laughed at the lack of struggle. This was the first time he’d gotten to carry Nico and the kid weighed like four throw pillows in a sack. Honestly, Nico needed to eat more.

“Dude, you weigh like thirty pounds. I’m gonna make you eat _everything_ later, Thalia’s meal be damned,” Jason swore as his toe hit the corner.

“I eat a lot every day of my life, no thanks to you,” Nico replied behind him. “I just digest faster. All of the time. Maybe.”

“Must be tiring.”

“I _know_.”

Without another word, Jason kicked the door to his room open, and dropped Nico on the bed. He then leaned down to take Nico’s backpack, so Nico had to sit up to help himself out of it. Jason tried not to think about their position, or the fact that Nico was just staring blankly at him.

“Where are you gonna sleep?” The question dropped Jason out of his thoughts as he leaned back up and placed Nico’s bag down on the floor. Jason looked around the room.

It was a guest bedroom, obviously. It was cramped, and Jason wasn’t sure if Thalia cleaned the floors regularly enough, or if she ever did clean the place up. Jason made a face.

“I can go back on the couch,” Nico offered. Jason automatically shook his head in disagreement.

“The couch is hell, I’ve fallen asleep in it twice and my back ache didn’t recede fast enough,” Jason explained when Nico frowned, brows drawn in confusion.

He thought of the possibilities here. He could share Thal’s bed, since that was big enough. He could also take the couch but, well, back aches and all.

“I mean, we could,” he started, then flushed, shoulders tensing. Nico raised a brow at this. “… Never mind. It’s—you might not…”

“Spit it out, Jay,” Nico demanded, rolling his eyes and dropping his head on the pillows. Jason moved to sit down by the edge.

“We could… share the bed,” Jason said, in the smallest voice possible. His eyes were set firmly at Nico’s mismatched socks. Those were Jason’s.

He hoped Nico hadn’t heard that last part, hoped that he wouldn’t have to tell Nico to just forget about it. He didn’t know why he didn’t just change his suggestion. For some reason, he wanted to tell Nico the truth. All the time.

Maybe it was the honesty streak that Nico was having, maybe it was contagious.

“I wouldn’t mind…” was Nico’s reply, with a soft voice, one on the verge of slumber, trailing off to the sound of the streets outside.

Jason turned to look at the younger teen, bed shifting with his movement. Nico’s head was listing to the side, eyelids fluttering shut. Jason smiled, relief and affection washing over him.

Standing up, he pulled the sheets from where he was seated and set it down on Nico, who shifted and fixed his position on the bed.

Jason left him and napped on the couch instead.

* * *

 

Jason had just begun drifting into consciousness, feeling something warm by his cheek, when a voice said: “Well aren’t you two something.”

Jason snorted awake, neck popping from the sudden jolt. Something hit his cheek, the same warmth from his sleep, but he couldn’t see anything yet. Sleep still pulled at his eyelids. Clearing his throat, he sat up, letting the sleep wash out.

Slowly, he opened his eyes. Squinting, he felt around the couch for his glasses.

They were handed to him not even a half-second later. He put them on with no second thought.

Thalia went around the kitchen, a mischievous look on her face.

Frowning, Jason looked around, seeing Nico by the floor next to his couch.

“What year is it?” Jason blurted out. Nico shrugged, keeping his eyes on the floor. Jason thought it was weird, but didn’t question him further.

“It’s well past 6 PM, Jay. Don’t overreact,” Thalia replied fondly. Then, she grinned and walked over to the center table beside Jason, three steamy boxes of take out in both of her arms. “It’s also time for dinner, so dig the heck up.”

Feeling a churning in his stomach, Jason laid his feet down on the floor and reached out for one of the boxes, scooching over to the middle to give Nico room on the couch. Thalia handed him a pair of chopsticks and went back to the kitchen, probably for drinks.

As he took his first bite, he saw Nico’s hesitant look. Smiling, he lifted the box up to say ‘eat up’.

With a huff, Nico reached forward for the box but hesitated again.

“What?” Jason asked, careful not to spill on the couch or to sputter about with the fried rice.

Nico flushed, staring at the table. “I don’t know how to use chopsticks…”

“Here ya go!” Thalia shouted as she reached over Jason’s head to give Nico the spoon and fork. Nico tentatively grabbed at it, mumbling a small thanks, before grabbing the box and sitting down next to Jason.

For a moment, the three of them sat in silence, eating their boxes of cheap Chinese takeout. Jason didn’t know if he should read the moment as awkward, comfortable, tense, or well, _anything_. There was obvious history between the two demigods that he was sandwiched between.

Obvious history he didn’t know anything of but could ask about.

He just had to pick up the courage to spit it out already.

He felt Nico bump his knee, the younger teen urging him to speak up. Jason smiled at the rice stuck at his cheek.

“So uh,” Jason started. _Baby steps,_ he told himself. Thalia froze, can of Dr. Pepper halfway to her mouth. “You’re seven years older than me, huh?”

Nico snickered, breaking the tense moment between his action and Thalia’s reaction. “You’re _never_ getting over that, aren’t you?” he mumbled.

Jason rolled his eyes, reaching out to flick off the bit of rice on Nico’s cheek. It was starting to bother him a little. “Well, _excuse me_ , Mister Social Expert. It’s not like I _know_ how to start conversations.”

“It _was_ kinda awkward, Jay,” Thalia commented, quirking a brow at their interactions. Jason huffed, looking from Nico to Thalia.

“You’re both being bullies right now.”

“Nice comeback,” Nico muttered drily.

* * *

 

Thalia took a sip from her second can of beer, letting the silence seep in between them.

Jason appreciated it, he wasn’t really sure that he could speak much after that story. She’d really gone through all that? Lost one of her best friends in a war?

He looked at Thalia with respect. She was independent, capable of living as a girl out of her time and as a demigod constantly in danger. She was the older sister he couldn’t grow up to be with. She’s been through so much.

After a long pause, Jason finally said, “You all need a vacation.”

Thalia laughed at this, “Hell yeah we do.”

Jason hummed, hand unconsciously moving to comb through Nico’s hair. His arm hung behind the sofa, reaching towards where the younger teen had nodded off by his corner of the chair.

“Did something happen with you two?” asked Thalia. Jason blinked, looking towards her. She nodded to his general direction. He realized that she meant Nico and him.

Jason flushed, “Uh, not really?”

“When did you both get chummy then?  Nico doesn’t really let anyone touch him unless it’s Reyna or Hazel. Or me, if I ask,” she continued.

Jason blinked sluggishly. “Really?”

“Yeah, really,” she took another sip of her beverage, before setting it down on the table. “This one time, he almost sprained Will’s wrist when the guy touched him.” Jason made a sound at that. Thalia shrugged, “It’s a reflex. Well, I _think_ it is.”

“Huh.”

“Wait, are you two legit dating now?” Thalia asked. Then a grin formed on her face, and Jason knew it was too late to argue now. “ _Oh my gods, why didn’t you tell me?!_ ” she hissed, lightly kicking at his foot.

“There’s _nothing_ to tell,” Jason argued, voice clear and a bit croaky with dehydration, though he knew it was a futile effort. He withdrew his hand from Nico’s hair, now a bit cautious in waking the other up. “We’re not dating. Nico and I’ve been friends for months.”

Thalia rolled her eyes, giving Jason an exasperated look. Jason frowned, but it felt more like a pout, if he was going to be honest with himself. He wasn’t. Not any time soon.

Abruptly, Thalia rose from her seat and stretched. “I’m going to sleep.” And with that, she left the room, and shut the door to hers.

It took Jason five seconds to realize that she just left him with cleaning up. Jason sighed.

Gathering the boxes and cans from the center table, Jason stood up, giving Nico a gentle pat on the arm. He didn’t want a sprained wrist.

Nico stirred, blinking with bleary eyes.

“Get to bed, I’ll clean up here,” Jason said softly, lifting the boxes. Nico turned his head and nodded into the sofa, clearly not going to get up to move to the bed anytime soon. Jason shook his head at this.

“If you’re still there when I’m done, I’m gonna carry you to bed,” Jason warned.

“Do it gently then,” Nico mumbled back.

“No promises,” Jason blurted out, hurriedly padding over to the kitchen. He dropped the utensils into the sink, and the boxes and cans into the trash bin. Then, he grabbed a towel and ran it through the tap, wringing the water out, and walked back to the center table to wipe off any stains or dropped food into his palm.

Nico still made no effort to move. Jason was half-sure that Nico was fast asleep, again.

Once his hands were washed, he bent down to pick Nico up. Gently this time.

He was sure that Nico was awake again. The younger teen was too cooperative when Jason adjusted him to a sitting position and pulled him up into a piggyback ride.

Nico’s lanky legs were taut with muscle, but Jason was sure that he felt the tight pressure where Jason held onto the back of his knees, just in case Jason accidentally dropped him.

Still, Nico said nothing. Just kept his breaths even and his chest to Jason’s back.

Jason felt hair hit his cheek, and cold flesh hit his neck. He shuddered at the sensation.

Just as carefully as Jason had lifted him up, he sat down on the bed and listed sideways, before letting Nico go.

He moved to stand, but Nico kept his hold on him. Jason laughed, “I need a bath. C’mon, lemme go.”

With a noise that sounded like complaint, Nico withdrew his socked feet from Jason’s sides, freeing Jason from the hold.

Jason sat up, looking back down at the teen beside him.

Sleeping beside your best friend, kisses on the cheek, holding each other longer than was necessary; these were not things that normal friends do. Jason knew well enough when Nico stared at him, and Nico knew well enough when Jason stared at him. It wasn’t the biggest secret to them. Jason supposed that the staring was how all of this started anyway.

He hoped they would be together. There was a huge possibility. Jason had shitty eyesight but he wasn’t blind.

Well, not in the emotional way.

But there was something holding him back. This was odd. Jason was a forward person. He’s dated, initiated, has returned feelings. This force, however theoretical it was to Jason, was stopping him.

With a sigh, he stood up.

* * *

 

“So, where’s Thal?”

“She’s back at camp.”

Jason nodded, chewing on his cereal. She did mention that Piper was going to be back in California in a few weeks for Thanksgiving too. It would make sense that she’d cherish every moment she could with her girlfriend.

Nico went back to trying to read the back of the cereal box, chewing on some toast. He was wearing some of Jason’s clothes. A shirt two sizes bigger hanging off his shoulders and pajama pants that went past the balls of his socked feet. Jason had tossed them at him when he woke up, but only because Nico mentioned something about not bringing enough extra clothes.

It suited him, Jason thought, even though they were too big and baggy. A clear change from the skinny jeans and tight fit shirts.

“Say,” Jason said conversationally. “How come this place is fully stocked if it’s just a safehouse?”

Nico snorted, “Why didn’t you ask her that last night?”

Jason shrugged, wiping at the milk that dribbled down his chin. “I don’t want to lose my tutor just yet. You’re a great teacher. Plus, what’ll I talk to you about then?”

Nico remained silent, hand reaching for another piece of toast.

Eventually, he knew he’d have to answer Jason’s question. So he did. “Demeter stocks it up with wheat and wheat-by products. It’s a kind of favor with Thalia from a few months back, back in Greece.”

“So this is legitimately healthy then?” Jason grinned, lifting the spoon up to gesture at Nico. Milk spilled a little, so Jason brought the spoon back to the bowl abruptly.

“I suppose so,” Nico answered. Then, he frowned. “I can’t say I’m not tired of it, despite the health benefits. She bothers me enough as it is.”

“Why?”

“Well, she’s my stepmother’s mother. I kind of have to deal with her during her visits in winter.”

Jason blinked incomprehensively. Then slowly, realization dropped in. “You mean, you’re like, close with Perse—?”

“ _Don’t_ say her name,” Nico interrupted, holding his hands out over the table. “She’ll overhear and I _do not_ want to deal with her— Please, just. Names have power, okay?”

Jason’s face crumpled into confusion. “You do that with your dad _all_ the time.  And your trigger-happy rapist uncle up on his Olympic-sized bath tub.”

Nico sat back with a surprised laugh, “That’s surprisingly accurate. But no, I suppose they don’t care. As long as I’m my father’s son, Zeus has no hold on killing me unless I insult him personally. It’ll cause wars.”

Jason froze in his seat.

In all of the months with Nico, it only now occurred to him that the younger teen was technically like, the prince of the Underworld. And that also meant that he was technically the half-brother of an Olympian princess.

This felt so weird to him for some unusual reason.

“What was that pause?” Nico asked.

“What pause? There wasn’t any pause.”

“ _Right_. And my dad isn’t a romantic.”

“He _smells_?”

“I said a _romantic_. Not aromatic, you fucking idiot.”

“Let’s not throw around insults here.”

Standing up, Nico put his hands up in surrender. “Nope, I quit.”

Jason laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been really busy and wow, this is the first surge of inspiration in weeks. Thank the gods I found my motivation to end this chapter.
> 
> I'm extremely sorry for the lack of Thalia here. I have a plan for a side-story to Thalia and Piper's interactions coming out as soon as I end this fic. So, hang in there, readers!
> 
> Comments are still appreciated.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Sa panaginip na lang pala kita maisasayaw_.

Jason put the money on the counter and thanked the cashier. With a smile, he put the paper bag into his backpack, before stepping out into the streets.

The noise of the hustle and bustle of the streets almost deafened Jason as soon as he opened the door. Sure, Berkeley wasn’t really the quietest place on Earth, but compared to the busy New York streets, it was like a low voice in the cafeteria.

(Jason really forgot where that metaphor was heading.)

“What took them so long? You gave those in like, two hours ago,” Nico complained more than asked, walking up to him. He was back in his ratty aviator’s jacket, Jason’s shirt still loose on his shoulders. He was back in his jeans and boots though. Jason shrugged.

“I only _take_ the pictures, man. I don’t really know much about the process with these things. Plus, I bought some extra film while I was in there so, yeah,” he explained.

This morning, Jason convinced Nico that they probably _should_ go sightseeing, while they were still here. He definitely couldn’t just go back to Camp Half-Blood, and the idea was better than just wasting away in Thalia’s apartment with the knowledge that it wasn’t really her apartment. From then on, they walked aimlessly through city blocks, not really wanting to go the extra mile and jump into tourist spots for photos.

They’ve taken to just wandering around: Jason taking pictures of random things like a pigeon  or a street performer, while Nico gave homeless people change, and buying snacks to pass the hunger. Sometimes Nico gave his share of food to some of the homeless people they stumbled upon.

It was enough for Jason to imagine that they were on a date, and they were as official as Thalia and Beryl thought they were.

“Hey,” Jason started, bumping into Nico a little as someone pushed past his shoulder. “What do you say about getting lunch at the nearest McDonald’s?”

Nico made a face at Jason’s grin saying, “I’ll say that you’ve already eaten one too many hotdogs in the last two hours.”

Jason pouted, trying to look as convincing as possible. Nico kept his face straight. “C’mon, I’ll even buy you a Happy Meal.”

Nico snorted. “Nice proposition, but the answer is still ‘maybe if you were hungrier.’”

 

 

It was then, as they continued walking aimlessly through the streets, that Jason felt something change in the air. It wasn’t the fact that they were being extra chummy. ( _Please,_ he’s known that fact since Nico appeared in his house the _first_ time around.)

No. It wasn’t emotional, but _something_ shifted in the air around them, something that Jason couldn’t put a finger on, something like...

He hesitated, his walk slowing to a stop in the middle of the busy streets. Nico stopped a few feet in front of him, a look of concern on his face. His discomfort made way for the sudden feeling of déjà vu, but it quickly dissipated.

“Is everything alright?” Nico asked, making his way back to Jason’s standpoint.

“Is it just me, or did everything else just get… quieter?” Jason asked, turning to look around them. There was still the same amount of people around them, he was certain he could hear the sound of the honking horns of cars in traffic, the yells of the street vendors and people hailing taxis. But it was... muffled, like they just entered a building without knowing.

“That’s not just you,” Nico said, eyeing the crowd around them with a wary look on his face. His gloved hand hovered over the handle of his sword, making Jason tense up.

What if this was a monster attack? Was Nico going to send him out of the field and heroically (but recklessly) rush in alone? Was Jason just overreacting and this was just a minor thing? But Nico was tensing up in every possible way and it was kind of starting to freak him out.

What if one of them died? Oh, dear lord, what if  _Nico_ died?

“Well, son of Hades. A surprise to see you with such company,” a voice, clear cut and powerful and _familiar_.

Jason’s breath hitched, brought out of his senses when Nico accidentally bumped him by the arm. He didn’t know that he was holding his breath, or that he was practically frozen to his position. He turned his head to the source of the familiar voice.

A woman, tall and proud, with chiseled-cheekbones and wide friendly eyes. Not the kind of face anyone would think could produce the powerful voice, especially not Jason. She wore a simple green summer dress, and an olive short-sleeved jacket. She honestly looked like a white suburban mother.

“Lady Hera,” Nico greeted, dropping his hand from its position over his sword. He kept his fists clenched and his face clear of emotion, still tense and cautious. “Fancy seeing _you_ here.”

Jason took care not to drop his backpack, clutching it to his chest with both hands, instead of leaving it hanging on one shoulder. He gawked at the woman. This woman with the familiar sounding voice.

Hera smiled warmly at him. This woman was his sister’s stepmother.

 _She’s as much of a mother to me as Hera ever was. You know that_ , Thalia’s words rang through his head. This was his sister’s stepmother, one she hated. She was...

“...Aunt June, is that you?”

“ _What?!_ ” Nico snapped, making Jason jump.

“You mortals grow up so slow but so _fast_. It is nice seeing you again, Jason,” she greeted, ignoring Nico’s outburst.

“But you’re... You’re a...”

“A goddess, but of course. You think I wouldn’t know of Beryl Grace’s _affair_ with my husband, oh dear,” Hera finished for him, scowling. Then, she waved it off like a pesky fly, nearly startling Jason with the sudden change in mood. “But please, formalities aside, I _am_ still the one who raised you.”

Jason couldn’t get the confusion out of his system. “You look… _different_.”

Hera smirked, “As do you, Jason Grace.”

Jason thought maybe she didn’t get what he was trying to point out here. Aunt June, in his fuzzy memory, looked gentler and came off as more motherly to him than… _this_ literal Greek statue with color. Aunt June, or Hera, or whatever her real name is; she literally looked different. Powers as a goddess aside, of course.

“ _What_?” Nico hissed, stepping into Jason’s space. Jason jumped, putting his hands up in a show of surrender almost immediately as he was jolted out of his reverie.

“Look, man. She took care of me as a kid. I’m just as surprised as you that she’s showing up to me, gimme a fucking break.” He replied, voice raising an octave from the sudden stress.

Nico looked back to Hera, then to Jason again, the most bewildered look on his face. If Jason wasn’t aware of his sword, or the fact that Aunt J— _Hera_ was right there, he would have laughed. “She _raised_ you?! And you didn’t know you were being raised by a goddess?”

“Was I _supposed_ to know? Oh, _silly me_ , I should have looked at the list of mythological figures wanting to raise me! Maybe I’ll refer to it next time,” Jason scowled.

Nico drew back, tension dropping out of his shoulders. He actually looked surprised by Jason’s half-panicked rambling. “I’m... sorry, it’s just...”

Hera tutted, effectively bringing their attention back to her. Jason had almost forgotten she was even there. “Trouble in paradise, it seems. That just won’t do.”

Jason opened his mouth to protest, but she held her hand up, cutting him off. “This was not the point of this visit, my dear. I’m _completely_ sorry but I must cut our meeting short. I am still in probation after my stunt with the Great Prophecy.”

“I bet,” Nico muttered. Hera gave him a sideway glance, before bringing her attention back to Nico.

She cleared her throat, though Jason thought there was probably no need for it. “I advise that you stay away from demigod matters, Jason Grace. It is damaging your mother.”

Jason blinked, “Damaging my... mother? What do you—what does _this_ ,” he gestured between him and Nico. “Have to do with my mother?”

Hera huffed, shoulders rising and dropping with the action exaggeratedly. It looked like something a spoiled thirteen year old would do, but Jason kept that thought to himself, along with the feeling of irritation bubbling down his throat.

“I’ll have to summarize it then,” Hera started with a grumble. “After she had you, Beryl Grace was a _wreck_. Her acting career deteriorated, and as did her sanity. She and you were hanging onto her leftover money for survival.

"Along with her… passing fad for alcohol, and the fact that she was jobless, it was not something I could bear to observe from the distance,” she scrunched her nose up at the memory. Jason nodded. It _was_ kind of bad.

Hera cleared her voice. “Now, since I _am_ the goddess responsible for family, I just _had_ to look after the both of you. We struck a deal, you see. If she agreed that I could erase her memories of your sister, and memories of even meeting my husband, I would help her raise you until she was stable.

“She agreed, and I helped until she could support the both of you without a hitch, then erased her memories of me.”

Jason opened his mouth for a comment, and then snapped it shut. Hera was the one who’d been protecting his mother. Hera, who usually played the jealous wife, that drove Zeus’ love affairs to madness and death. _Hera_ had raised him under her wing, taught him manners, and helped his mother through tough times when he couldn’t even comprehend it yet.

“Thank you,” was the only thing he could—no, _should_ say. And he did just so. A look of surprise flashed through Hera’s face, like she wasn’t expecting gratitude for protection or upbringing. Something like sympathy bubbled up inside Jason.

He remembered tales of Hera’s sons, Ares and Hephaestus. And what a disaster _those_ tales were, coupled with one too many lovers and bastard children from Zeus. Hera deserved something for once, and all Jason could give was his gratitude.

“Your efforts must be usually misunderstood, Miss Hera. I just want to thank you for helping Mom and I through all of that. It would’ve driven her _nuts_ if you hadn’t done what you did,” he continued. He clenched his fists, feeling the coolness of his fingertips on his palm. Why was he so nervous?

“And, thank you. For raising me. You’re a good mother and teacher.” Jason felt the cold brush of Nico’s ring by the back of his hand, a gesture that reminded Jason of his presence in this discussion.

Jason bumped back, glancing at the younger teen, who gave him a gentle smile.

He looked back at Hera and swore that he could see a faint glow around her as she smiled back at him. “You’ve grown so well,” she said. Jason’s face colored, but he didn’t say anything about the pride and happiness in her voice, only a mumble of thanks and a nod.

“Not to be rude, Lady Hera, but you still haven’t answered Jason’s question,” Nico piped up.

“Oh! It must have slipped my mind,” Hera mumbled as an aside. “Could you repeat it again?”

It took Jason a moment to notice the expectant look on her face. He recalled his question from earlier, “What do my relations with demigods have to do with my mother’s… situation?”

Hera hummed. “Ah, right. Their connection to you weakens the barrier I’ve put over your mother’s memories. It is my sworn duty to protect the _both_ of you, so by extension and preserving the energy and effort that I put on this barrier, I had to put just one barrier on the both of you.

“Meaning that, if you got in contact with another god or goddess’s magic or physical presence, it will remove the barrier I’ve placed on your mother, and will... Well, you probably already know.”

“Then how come it doesn’t work on _you_? Aren't you speaking to me right now?” Jason asked. Hera appearing to him and talking to him like this, it would have hurt his mother. Why should she risk this?

“Why, this is a vessel. All this green isn’t really my style,” Hera said, with the flourish of her dress. “I _did_ make the rules of this agreement; I wouldn’t just break my own rules out of carelessness.”

Nico set his hand on Jason’s arm. “Then why don’t you just retract the barrier to just his mother? Is this an agreement on the Styx?”

Jason steadily ignored the flutter in his stomach at the thought of the question and the hand on his arm. Nico wanted to keep their… _relationship_ (whatever the preferable term was,) and was willing to negotiate with the _queen_ of goddamn _Olympus_.

That’s not just something you do for a guy you met on the subway.

A sharp glint was brought back to Hera’s eyes at this sudden reminder that it was not, in fact, just Jason and her in on this discussion. This brought Jason out of his thoughts. “ _Yes_ , it was sworn upon the Styx, nephew of mine. I cannot change the rules, as much as I want to. I’ve tried when I felt that something was pushing at the barrier on Jason’s side, only to find that he’d been meeting up with Thalia Grace. I’ve only let his gift through but that’s as far as it could go.”

“Okay then, thank you again, Miss Hera,” Jason said, wanting to end this conversation. The new knowledge made a chill run through him. Now he knew what the deal with his mother was, why it was happening, and why Jason had only started noticing the things around him. It was enough to irk him. Most of his problems didn’t work themselves out as fast as this.

Nico gave him a concerned look. Jason returned it with a resigned frown, one that probably brought up one or two questions in the younger teen’s head.

“You are welcome, Jason Grace,” Hera replied. “And please, call me June. I was quite fond of that name.”

Jason could only nod.

Slowly, the noise went back, making Jason’s ear ring.

Hera’s vessel’s expression melted into a dreamy look, suddenly walking forward and into the crowd, like nothing had happened. She probably wouldn’t even know that she’d just stopped in front of Nico and him.

Jason winced, but slowly relaxed as his adjusted to the noise. He went to put his backpack on and turned to face Nico.

There was a look of concern on his face, one that held a lot of emotion. Doubt, curiosity, a slight tinge of him bracing himself for some kind of impact, and a little of hope. “Should I… bring you back home?”

Realization hit Jason faster than the dread that came after it. So _that_ was what the concern was for. His lips pulled down a little with that. He was supposed to leave everything behind. His sister, Percy, Annabeth, Piper; he had to leave them all behind.

But most importantly, Nico. Jason had to _leave_ Nico. Permanently.

A kind of tense silence hung between them, neither of them wanting to formulate an answer to the question; right before someone pushed through their little moment, someone from the crowd working around them.

 _Looks like Nico’s force field doesn’t work all that well in New York crowds_ , a voice in the back of Jason’s head joked.

“Let’s just, walk and talk,” Jason suggested as they came back together, almost naturally. Shoving his hands into his jacket’s pockets, Nico nodded.

If Jason was going to be honest for the both of them here, there was more walking and absolutely no talking.

* * *

 

Jason looked around them. The park wasn’t as crowded as he’d think it’d be when they ended up there. There were dogs in the distance, walking with their owners and playing with other dogs. There were bikers and joggers, and just the general high school students fooling around.

“This is… quaint,” he commented.

“As compared to your small-ass ball park, I guess you could call it that,” Nico threw back with a shrug.

Jason gasped, smacking Nico’s arm lightly, looking mock-offended. “Take that back, you—the park back home is _nice_ , okay?”

“Could have fooled me.”

Nico smirked, walking ahead, towards one of the vacant benches. There was something to his walk that made the jacket tied around his waist sway, and Jason couldn’t help shaking his head.

They settled down the bench, a relief after hours upon hours of walking around the streets for no particular reason. Jason gave a particularly loud sigh of relief as they settled down.

“You’re _such_ an old man,” Nico remarked.

Jason laughed, “That’s a fair assumption.”

Another silence passed, and Jason started relaxing. All of the tension left his shoulders and back as he sprawled his legs out in front of him, and put his head on the back of the bench. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine that he was back in Berkeley.

“We don’t have all day,” Nico said. Jason didn’t open his eyes, but didn’t hide the tightening of his jaw. There was something in Nico’s tone, a mixture of concern and anxiety, like the look from earlier. Jason would have felt the same.

He opened his eyes, staring up at the afternoon light from beneath the leaves. “Do you want me to go?”

“No. But you have to.”

“I know.”

Another moment of silence. It might have been Nico’s only chance at stalling, honestly. But Nico was an anxious mess, and honestly, if Nico didn’t ask himself, Jason wouldn’t have even brought it up anyway.

They balanced each other out that way.

Jason turned to look, not surprised to find Nico looking back at him. His dark curls framing his face, certain spots of his face illuminated from the leaves above. Jason felt a sudden tug, like gravitation or magnetism. Whatever it was, Jason wasn’t a stranger to the feeling. He resisted it.

The trance broke, and Jason felt like he may have done something, delayed something important. He was sure that Nico felt it too. Jason shifted to sit upright.

“No time like the present,” Jason said, and Nico nodded.

The finalization shook him to the core. He supposed that he should have braced himself for it, but he found that he never would have gotten the chance to anyway.

He felt something warm slide onto the back of his hand, and when he turned to look, it was a gloved hand. It lifted Jason’s and slipped under to intertwine their fingers together.

The shadows slipped beneath them, and Jason found that the downward spiral into the shadows was nothing against the feeling of Nico’s hand in his.

* * *

 

Nico never let go of his hand on their bus ride back to Berkeley.

They dropped into Vegas quickly enough, reminding Jason that he had to get his mother a souvenir. People gave them odd looks, but Jason couldn’t care less.

“I’ll miss you,” Jason whispered into Nico’s hair. “I’ll never let myself forget you. I’m never giving your clothes back.”

Nico shook his head, and Jason was certain that there was a smile on his face. “That’s the weirdest thing you’ve said to me, ever.”

Jason didn’t want it to be the last. He bit the inside of his cheek.

“I won’t forget you either,” Nico mumbled back.

Jason held his breath as the bus pulled to a stop at familiar surroundings. Together, they wobbled off the bus as slowly as they could, feigning fatigue from a road trip that never happened.

The bus stop near Jason’s house was a kind of place of departure, and Jason dreaded the fact that this might be the last time he’d ever think of it as something to look forward to. The vehicle hissed, slowly driving off into the distance.

It was sunset, and Jason had to push away any and all knowledge of crappy romance movies with sunsets and last goodbyes, because this? This was _his and Nico’s_ , and he wasn’t going to think of anything shitty to accompany it with.

When the tears threatened to fall, he blamed it on the sun hitting his eyes.

Nico turned around, looking up at Jason with those equally glossy brown eyes. The younger teen bit at his lower lip, willing it to not quake under the pressure of the overwhelming tears, but he never broke eye contact.

Jason didn’t trust his voice, so he stepped forward, reaching up with his free hand, and set it on Nico’s cheek, to wipe at the tears.

He surged forward, closing the space between them. His glasses hit Nico, but he didn’t let that hinder him. He kissed, the softest and the first he’s had in a very long time, and he wondered to himself why he couldn’t have done this earlier on.

The kiss broke as Nico pulled his glasses off, but the break didn't last as he leaned up to deepen the kiss.

Jason felt the finality of the moment, months’ worth of tension melting with the kiss. He felt the tears on Nico’s cheeks, tasted salt as his own dropped down.

Nico was the one to break it, Jason leaning down to capture the younger teen’s lips once more, before stopping and resting his forehead on Nico’s.

He needed a moment. This couldn’t have possibly helped in anyway. This could have worsened it. Nico reciprocated, sure. Nico had held his hand from Manhattan to Berkeley. Jason didn’t want to let go.

“That just made it harder,” Nico mumbled, his breath ghosting over Jason’s face. Silently, he nodded in agreement.

“I had to do it,” Jason replied, placing a small kiss to the corner of Nico’s lips. “I wanted you to know, in case...”

 _In case we didn’t see each other again_.

Jason pulled away, a herculean effort. He fumbled around with his backpack, feeling around for the paper bag from earlier. He sniffed, wiping at his eyes. His blurry vision didn’t help, but he found what he was looking for anyway.

“Here,” he said, moving back into Nico’s space. He exchanged it with his glasses. “Something to remember me by.”

Nico sobbed, like, honest-to-god _sobbed_ when he saw what it was. Jason felt devastated that he was going to leave Nico like this, or that Nico was going to Camp Jupiter crying his heart out (just like how Jason would once he got back home).

It was the photo of them back in front of the Hades Cabin, a copy. Jason had promised Nico one, so who was he to refuse, right?

“Why do you keep making this harder for me?” Nico whined, wiping at his tears. Jason daintily grabbed the photo before Nico could damage it. Carefully, he slid it into the younger teen’s jacket pocket.

He huffed out. He could have laughed but he was crying too, so it wasn’t the easiest action. “I’m really not. I’m making it harder for myself too, y’know.”

Nico glared up at him, his nose and cheeks red, eyes still wet and glinting in the sunset. Jason smiled.

Nico grabbed his collar and pulled him down for one last kiss, before disappearing into the shadows behind him.

Jason stood there, staring at the ground, feeling the ghost warmth of Nico’s lips on his, and the wind blowing at his face.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, I'm not sorry for that cliffhanger ending
> 
> Secondly, I feel like some of this is a little stiff. Sorry guys, I haven't gotten much inspiration on this thing. Just know that the next chapter _will_ be the last, so, idk. It's been a long journey, I guess.
> 
> All of your comments have been so nice, and I'm sorry if I haven't gotten to reply to any of them, but just know that they've been motivating me throughout my everyday life. 
> 
> Translation to the summary: _The only place I could dance with you was in my dreams_.  
>  From the song "Ang Huling El Bimbo" by Eraserheads. The song's been stuck in my head, and it should be since I've been strumming on my guitar since Monday.


	12. Let's Try This Again

His thoughts were running a mile a minute and he could never really catch any of them. As a collective, he knew what they were about. Because what else would they be about, right? But he also knew that he never really wanted to catch any of said thoughts.

He felt something hit his face. He glanced down at it, his chin leaving its perch on top of his hand. He blinked, almost sluggishly. It was an eraser.

He looked to the side; gaze ultimately locked into place as he caught Alex’s look.

They were in Jason’s room, a fine Saturday afternoon spent with a dozen donuts and finishing essays and projects together. It had been Jason who’d suggested it last Friday.

“Dude, what the fuck?” Alex hissed at him, reaching down to retrieve the eraser from the floor.

Jason thought that that was kind of a loaded question. Was Alex asking what the deal with Jason was? Was he asking why he wasn’t paying attention? Or was he just mad at the prospect of the latter’s lack of focus?

Jason didn’t have enough brain space to formulate a response to any of those speculated questions. All he could think to say was, “Sorry, I zoned out.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “No fucking _shit_ you ‘zoned out’. You know, the first couple of days, I could ignore that,” he explained, shifting from Jason’s desk chair. His arms were crossed and he looked down at Jason from his perch on the seat. “By yesterday, I was waiting. What the hell is happening with you, dude?”

There was a kind of edge to the teen’s concerned tone, and Jason realized that it wasn’t just because Alex wanted his attention or anything. It was because Jason hadn’t told him the reason. Maybe he thought that Jason was keeping secrets.

Jason took a deep breath.

“Sorry, it’s just... It’s a long story but it… it’s about Nico,” Jason stated, a sadder than he’d intended. He flinched at the tone he chose.

He didn’t want to make it sound like Nico and he broke up or anything, or that he and Nico had fought to begin with. There wasn’t a relationship to break up anyway, other than companionship and a little something more that never really got the chance to develop. And he and Nico never got into huge disagreements.

 _Yet,_ a voice in the back of his head added.

Jason sighed, hand coming up to wave his thoughts off, squishing every bit of hope that came with it. “I’ll try to focus, I promise,” he said, but it was an empty promise.

Alex frowned, leaning back on his seat. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Jason. You and I both know that something like _this_ isn’t something you can bounce back from easily.” There was a look of something like disappointment (betrayal?) on his face. “Why couldn’t you just tell me?”

“It’s _not like_ that!” Jason shouted, the frustration was evident in his voice. “Shit, Lex, it was _never_ like that! Why don’t people get that? Mom, Thalia, fucking _Aunt June_ , and now _you._ Nico and I _never_ got the chance to—!“ Jason stopped, took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A shudder ran through him, and he felt like a dam just broke.

“I just, we wanted to, okay? Nico’s no homophobe, and neither did he reject me. Whatever the hell you’re thinking, it’s _not_ that. It’s just _complicated,_ alright?Now can we _please_ just get back to homework?”

Alex huffed, “Shit, man. Okay, s’what I get with trying to get something out of you. I got what I wanted, I guess.” He used a tone of forced nonchalance, but Jason heard the underlying tone of fear and a little bit of shame in there.

“Karma’s a bitch,” Jason mumbled, tapping his pen on the book laid out in front of him. His brain wasn’t focused enough to process anything. He refused to feel any form of remorse from what he’d just done.

“Oh, shut your goddamn mouth. That’s not how karma works.”

“That’s not how your face works.”

Alex sighed, a long insufferable sigh that made satisfaction settle in Jason’s stomach. “Why am I even friends with you?”

___

Jason wondered to himself if Beryl wasn’t gonna get flashbacks if he eased her into it.

Like, what if he just told her? And in the incident that he _did_ encounter a god or goddess (or other celestial being), she’ll just find out that, hey, Jason wasn’t kidding.

But that was selfish. Jason wouldn’t give his mother into dementia just because he wanted to be with a boy he barely even knew about.

“What’s with that face?” Beryl asked, glancing at Jason for a bit.

They were by the set again, watching the replay of the last episode of the Flash, or something. Jason never really paid attention. Er, well, he _couldn’t_ pay attention.

“Who?” he asked, trying to appear nonchalant, but he never broke eye-contact. Beryl squinted suspiciously at him.

“Dr. Wells, that’s who,” his mother replied drily. With a huff, she then said, “Seriously, Jay, are you okay?”

Jason wished he had a dollar for every time someone asked him that within the last week, he would have enough money for a round trip to Vegas with extra pit stops. He already got enough of these kinds of questions from Alex, he didn’t need this.

“I’m not making any face,” Jason replied, keeping up the act. He was sure that it was futile at this point but he didn’t want to have the conversation that he was sure was coming.

“Uh huh, you’re _definitely_ not making that ‘I want to do something but I’m deciding against it’ face.”

Jason nodded, almost sagely. “I have no such face. Definitely.”

“Do you want me to guess what this is about?” she asked. Jason bristled. No, he definitely did not. He probably couldn’t bear hearing _his_ name said by anyone else. He just couldn’t, for some reason.

“No, Mom. I _don’t_ want you to guess what it’s about.”

“Then _tell_ me about it, at least.” She gave him a look of pleading, askance, any other synonym. It had been a long time since Beryl had given him that look. Jason waited.

The show came back on. Beryl kept on looking.

Jason waited some more.

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Jason,” Beryl muttered under her breath. Jason was taken aback for a moment, both at her impatience and the profanity. Beryl rarely swore these days. He felt a little guilty about that, but also ecstatic.

Beryl just cursed because of him.

“Alright! Jeez, give someone time to think about it,” Jason replied hastily. Beryl looked back at the television, giving him time. He fidgeted, suddenly feeling uncomfortable on the couch. The couch where _he_ lied down and eavesdropped on the Graces. Jason felt something churn in his stomach.

Jason vaguely wondered if his mother even _remembered_ Nico.

 _The Mist sometimes bends mortal’s perceptions_ , Nico said the same night that Jason found out about everything. _It’s like a mirage, or a regular fog._

 _Does it affect memories too?_ Jason had asked. Somewhere in the background, Perseus and his posse inaccurately ran through the labyrinth. Nico complained about that too, amongst other things about the movie.

 _It might, if done right_ , was all Nico said.

After a moment’s silence, Jason said, “You remember Nico, right?” Beryl glanced back at him.

“Well, of course I do. It hasn’t been _that_ long, Jason,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

So Hera hasn’t done anything about that. Beryl moved with a start, bringing Jason out of his thoughts. She had this crazed look in her eyes. “Did you guys… break up?”

Jason sighed. He felt another imaginary dollar slide into his imaginary wallet. “No, Mom. We weren’t even _dating_.”

She spluttered, pushing a throw pillow in her lap, “What?! No!”

“Oh don’t act like this is anything _new_ , Mom,” Jason snapped. “I’ve told you time and time again that we were _just_ friends.”

A silence dropped neatly between them as Jason realized that, oh, they were watching Arrow, not The Flash. Sometimes, Jason couldn’t really tell the difference between what his mother was watching.

“If you were just friends, you wouldn’t be this hung up.”

Yeah, he wouldn’t.

___

The chill of a Thanksgiving morning was almost nonexistent as Jason stared out of the guest bedroom’s window.

Michael’s house was spacious. Spacious enough that anyone would know that it wasn’t just for three people. Jason had never asked about what happened to the mother of his two children, but then again, Jason never really cared.

There was shuffling from the door leading to the hallway. With a huff, Jason smiled, knowing that it was Angie and Ralph behind the door.

Michael’s children were as Jason had expected, from his mother’s accurate tales. They were enthusiastic and youthful, as children ought to be. Both children had a knack for arts and various other things. They were curious little tykes.

Jason didn’t mind sharing true tales about his and Nico’s trip to Manhattan. They ate it all up. Michael had given him an affectionate look, one that reassured Jason that Beryl was in definitely good hands.

Jason put on a shirt and opened the door, readjusting the frames of his glasses. “G’morning, ya little rascals. What are you doing, up so early?”

“Oh, nothing!” Angie replied enthusiastically, just as Ralph said, “We couldn’t sleep.”

With a smile, Jason led them away from the door and down the hall. “Well, if we all get breakfast early, how about you guys bring me to the park afterwards? I’ll bring your coloring stuff.”

Not soon after, the siblings ran down the hall, Ralph towards the kitchen, and Angie to their room; both were cheering, too energetic for the cold San Franciscan morning.

 

Jason stifled a yawn as he set up the coffee maker.

From the counter, Ralph stared, his dark eyes eyeing the equally dark liquid that Jason was preparing. The older reached out to mess up the boy’s dark hair, too brown to remind him of Nico’s. “You want some?”

Ralph shook his head, “Beryl says that I’m not supposed to yet. Daddy agrees with her.”

Jason raised a brow at this, “I’m not asking _them_ if they want some. Do _you_ want some?”

Ralph looked up at him, dark brown eyes wide with wonder and a smidgen of caution and disbelief. Jason took a deep breath. “You don’t mind?”

Jason smiled, “Nope.”

Angie’s feet slapped the tiles of the kitchen floor. With as much noise as she could, she set down the coloring books and materials on the counter beside Ralph.

“What’s this about.” she asked, but it wasn’t a question. Jason thought about how open she was with making as much noise as possible, this early in the morning.

“Jason’s gonna let me try some of his coffee,” Ralph answered. Jason nodded.

The machine beeped, and Jason grabbed at his prepared mug of sugar and milk.

“I want some too, if Ralphie’s getting some!” Angie shouted, slamming her little hands down the counter.

Jason laughed, “Alright, but only a sip each. I need my fuel.”

___

As he watched the kids abandon him by the park bench, he began to think: _Maybe the coffee was the wrong choice_.

The bench creaked as someone sat next to Jason without warning. He turned to see a tall, thick Asian dude. Jason was fifty percent sure that the guy was military, mostly because of the hairstyle. He was totally baby-faced though, so it ruled out anything else.

“You baby-sitting?” the guy awkwardly asked. Jason blinked, thinking that this guy’s face and voice and entire physicality was wrong, but he was fine with it. The guy was wearing a hoodie and baggy jeans, but he was totally ripped, Jason was sure.

Stop checking him out, Jason thought to himself. With some struggle, he said, “For my mom’s boyfriend, yeah. What about you?”

“For an acquaintance of mine,” the guy replied with a nod.

They sat in awkward silence as they watched the kids running around.

He saw a kid with goat hind-legs, then blinked.

“Uh,” Jason started, “which one’s yours? I mean, your acquaintance’s?” Inwardly, he thought _please don’t be the satyr, please don’t let it be the satyr._

Unfortunately, it was the satyr. The guy’s finger was as meaty as Jason had expected, and his sleeve was rolled up to his elbow. “That one. He’s a little hyperactive.”

Jason laughed, but it felt forced, “Aren’t they all, in that age?” Then, out of politeness, he pointed at Ralph and Angie, “Those are my runts right there.”

Discreetly, Jason glanced at the tall dude’s other arm. Unsurprisingly, there sat an SPQR tattoo.

For a moment, Jason asked God what the hell his deal was. All he wanted was to go back to normal, to keep his mom safe. June had told him not to get in contact with demigods and here one was, sitting next to him in a park bench in San Francisco.

“Oh, I forgot my manners,” the guy said. “My name’s Frank. Frank Zhang.”

That struck a familiar chord. Jason vaguely remembered the name, no matter how common it was. Wasn’t  this the other Roman praetor? The one with Reyna? “Jason Grace. Nice to meet you, Frank.”

They fell back to silence. Jason couldn’t believe that he was checking out a demigod. Why were all the demigods so goddamn muscly?

Jason prayed to all kinds of deities that Angie and Ralph would come trudging back to him to their coloring books.

Sadly, they did not.

Fortunately, Frank left the bench, scrambling for the satyr child, who was chewing on some discarded can on the ground. “Chuck, put that down!” Frank shouted.

Jason took a moment to release the breath that he didn’t know he was holding. Told himself that it was fine, just as long as Frank didn’t know that he could see the goat hindlegs or the SPQR tattoo, or the fucking centaurs near the gelato stand not even fifteen feet away from the playgrounds.

He just had to be chill, be the pretender that he was.

He went back, to lazily staring out at the playground. Then, he shivered, like he was sitting under faulty airconditioning.

Wait a fucking second.

To his left, the seat was _not_ empty. An arm’s length away from him, there sat...

“How’s it been, Jay?”

“...Nico?”

Nico looked at him, seemingly impassive. Jason saw the way that his jaw was set, hard, like he was concealing something. Jason saw the way his hands were hidden, saw his bleached jeans and black shirt, saw that he had no sword with him.

Jason saw him after a week, after sharing a kiss.

Jason let go of the breath that he’d held after a week, and definitely after the kiss.

“I know what you’re going to say,” Nico said, looking away. “That this is dangerous, or that I’m risking your mother’s safety or even Hera’s wrath or something. But I’m not risking anything if I’m not following you.”

Jason swallowed down any nervousness, feeling his face color. “I wasn’t going to say anything... I just, how’s life been?”

Nico smirked, the first of many, and Jason felt like it’s been years since he’s seen Nico. “I asked first.”

Jason grinned stupidly at the smirk, at the statement. Yeah, Nico did ask first. “Been distracted, honestly. This morning’s really cold. You?”

Nico’s smirk faltered at his first statement. He looked out at the playground, watched Frank set Chuck up on the swing set and push with little enthusiasm. “Been distracted too, I guess,” Nico said after the silence passed between them.

“You’re not risking anything,” Jason said, and he didn’t know why he said it, or why he felt like it had been a confession. “Aunt June told me to stay away from you, but she didn’t say we had to be apart.”

Nico let out a laugh, it wasn’t hollow so Jason breathed a sigh of relief. “Isn’t that the definition of _stay away_?”

Jason smiled sadly, technically it was. But Jason wasn’t one for technicality. “Let me clarify.”

And he did. He reached for Nico’s wrist, pulling it out of his pockets, and clasping their hands together. “She told us to stay away from each other.” Slowly, gently, Jason lifted Nico’s hand to his lips; blue eyes on brown. He saw the blush creeping up from under Nico’s shirt.

“But she didn’t tell us to not meet each other anymore.”

He ran his lips over Nico’s knucles, feeling the fabric of his fingerless gloves and the bones under his skin.

Nico stared, mouth hanging open. Jason stared back, setting the hand back down the bench.

“But Beryl...” Nico started to argue.

“She’s fine, _been_ fine. She still has memories of you and I can’t just tell her I broke it off with you before it even began.”

Nico was silent after that.

Frank walked back up, looked at the way Jason was still holding Nico’s hand. He blinked, then walked away without saying a word.

Jason saw more than felt the tension leave Nico’s body from this simple act. Frank and he were close then, Jason thought.

“Could we make this work?” Nico finally asked. There was uncertainty in his voice, and Jason felt like this was the first time Nico had said those words, the first time someone had wanted to date him. Jason felt his heart both swell and ache from this fact.

Nico deserved so much.

Jason looked around the playground, making sure that Ralph and Angie were still running around. He spotted them chatting some boy up by the sand box.

He looked back at Nico, at the way his cheeks were fuller, the way his eyes looked less sad and tired. He looked at Nico and said, “We can manage.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this felt extremely stiff but i've been falling out of pjo so i really had to finish it off.
> 
> if the writing style shifted by the end, blame me for reading trc and getting influenced by that.
> 
> comments are appreciated, and requests are accepted on my tumblr (same url)


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